


Nightmares and Daydreams

by rebelliousOracle



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Puns, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Puns & Word Play, Romance, Romantic Gestures, Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 12:27:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15818865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelliousOracle/pseuds/rebelliousOracle
Summary: A very long one shot of how my player character's crush evolved into a romance. Featuring, sappy romantic declarations, mutual hurt/comfort, a cat lady pirate, and what is basically the D&D equivalent of Poison Ivy.





	Nightmares and Daydreams

The clearing of the Bramble Queen was quiet and still, the sudden arrival of winter had brought with a blanket of snow and the accompanying drive which sent most of the forest’s creatures into a brief frenzy of preparation before they succumbed to their hibernation just shy of a week ago. In the middle of the clearing rose an enormous tree, ancient in appearance but not in truth as the remains of the Grieving Palace could be seen crumpled in the roots below. High above the forest floor, nestled in the boughs of the tree, was a building. 

It was not terribly large in size and appeared to be as much tree as house but it was inviting and the falling snow faded and disappeared as it neared the tree, resulting in a near perfect circle of green grass and flowers beneath the branches of the tree. Within the house an Eladrin woman sat, her form almost impossibly still and her expression contemplative as she stared down into the cup she held, as if she were searching for answers in the movement of the swirling flecks of tea and the rising plume of sweetly scented steam. 

“Selephra!”

The shout shattered the silence and the Eladrin woman jerked at the sound, her face turning to the window at the familiar voice and her expression changing to one of surprise and almost painful wonder. Outside the window, approaching silently through the air, was a large ship, it’s appearance of foreign make but it was one she recognized instantly. She rose quickly, spilling the hot tea across her hand and she set it back on the table impatiently though she gave no other indication of any pain or discomfort before rushing towards the door. 

By the time she made it out the front door to the small patio of woven branches the ship was hovering over the clearing a short distance away and leaning over the railing, waving furiously and grinning down at Selephra like she had been as eager to see her as Selephra had been in return. Her doubts immediately surfaced to drag away the hope that thought brought with it but Selephra couldn’t be preoccupied with her thoughts for long as Mei leapt over the edge of the floating ship and began falling, her limbs spread wide and her body angled to bring her closer to the tree.

Time seemed to slow, each heartbeat loud in Selephra’s ears as she stretched out an arm, sending vines rushing from her fingertips to intercept the falling Senri who seemed to be saying something though not loud enough to be heard. Selephra could almost see herself failing and losing the friend she had come to care about so deeply it scared her but then she felt a hand grab ahold of one of the outstretched vines, the others quickly rushing to wrap around the slight form of the other woman, pulling her towards the tree once she was secure. Selephra shuddered, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding only to frown tartly as she pulled Mei close enough to realize that the senri was  _ laughing _ . Didn’t she know that a fall from this height could have killed her? What was she thinking jumping off the ship like that? 

“Don’t scare me like that!” The words were out before she could stop them but Mei just grinned at her, shamelessly unrepentant in her mirth. “Happy belated Candlenights, Selephra!” She said as she touched down on the porch and Selephra’s vines released her as though scalded by Mei’s touch and began to shrink away. “I brought you a surprise!” 

Her response stumped the archfey for a moment before she realized that the winter of the feywild must have coincided with the time when Mei and the others had returned to material plane. “I didn’t get you anything though.” She tried to refuse but Mei’s expression remained cheerful, if a touch confused. “Yes, and? I was under the impression that this is a Holiday about  _ giving _ gifts to your friends and loved ones. So I got you a gift!” She looked almost unbearably smug as her response flummoxed the archfey. “It’s on the ship, so give me a moment and we can go see it.” She glanced back at the floating ship and without a word the ship began to move on its own, sailing above the tree until Selephra could see the hull of the ship above them. She glanced back down just in time to meet Mei’s eyes as she said the command word and Selephra felt the accompanying tug in her gut and didn’t resist as Mei teleported them both up to the deck of the ship.

Selephra turned on her with narrowed eyes. “You could have just teleported down instead of jumping off the ship.” She accused. Her ire rolled off of Mei’s excitement like water off a waxy leaf as she smiled guilessly. “Yes, but it would have been less fun.” Selephra rolled her eyes as Mei batted her eyes up at her with false innocence before she turned and began trotting towards the staircase that led deeper into the ship. “Come on,” She called over her shoulder, “It’s in the hold.”

Curiosity overwhelming her annoyance, Selephra followed after her as she led the way down into the cargo hold of the ship. When she reached the bottom she was met with the sight of a majestic looking horse saddled with tack bedecked in the reds and greens of both the holliday and her personal colors. Its chestnut coat gleaming as though freshly brushed and it held itself proudly as Mei, pleased at her shocked expression, explained herself in as few words as possible. “His name is Red Tiger. I won him in a bet and, as I already have a mount of my own, I thought you would be better suited to him than I. Do you like him?” 

Selephra nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat as she moved forward to let him sniff at her hands. When he gave an approving snort she stroked his face gently and looked over at Mei, the fondness on the Senri’s face causing the lump to tighten enough for her to get out, “Thank you Mei, he’s beautiful.” Mei’s cheeks turned pink, though it was almost imperceptible in the dim light of the hold. 

“If you’d like to hear the full story I’d be happy to tell you it, but we should probably eat, it’s near dinner and it’s a bit of a long story.” Selephra agreed and together they, very carefully, led Red Tiger up from the hold to the Transposition circle as Mei directed the ship off to the side so that they could teleport to the grass below. 

After erecting an impromptu stable for the horse, and ensuring he had ample hay and water, the two women headed up to Selephra’s home, Mei casting a satisfied glance at the rubble within the roots as she passed. They passed the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up as Mei filled her in on what had happened to her while in the material plane. Time passed quickly as Mei told jokes and shared updates on her companions and their holiday celebrations. 

Eventually a yawn broke through mid sentence and Selephra, shocked at the time, told Mei that they could talk more in the morning and showed her to the spare bedroom. Mei thanked her, pulling her into a hug automatically as her sleepiness overwhelmed her sense. Selephra froze and Mei drew back quickly, a laugh and apology ready on her lips before Selephra smiled weakly and with a quiet, “Goodnight Ao Mei,” retreated to her own room, cheeks flushed. Mei watched her leave, her expression falling as she inwardly cursed herself for making Selephra uncomfortable, before she pulled the door shut behind her and prepared herself for sleep.

* * *

 

It wasn’t until several hours later that a scream broke the stillness of the clearing once more. This time, however, it wasn’t a joyful shout of greeting but instead an echoing shrill, half feral with terror. Selephra, who was slow to wake even after a full night’s sleep, stirred at the sound. Her eyes, bleary and heavy from the tea she drank to help her sleep, fluttered open as she fought against the siren song of the bed and tried to determine what had woken her. It had sounded like a scream, but not one of her own… So not a nightmare. She yawned and almost curled back up to sleep before she bolted upright suddenly. “Mei.” She whispered, her voice small and scared. 

She pushed herself off the bed, worry driving her to move her tired feet down the hall to the guest room’s door. She fought with herself for a moment before, tentatively, knocking at the door. “... Are you alright?” She called through the heavy wood. She waited for a minute, anxiety mounting as she strained to listen for any response. “Mei?” She tried again, her call a little louder as she began to pace. Once again she received no response. Unable to wait any longer she placed a hand on the door knob. “Mei, I'm going to open the door, alright?” She paused, still hoping for a response that refused to come, before pushing the door open and entering. 

The bed, which took up the majority of the center of the sparsely furnished room, lay empty, the sheets and blankets a disheveled and twisted mess as though Mei had struggled to free herself from them. A low, rumbling growl echoed from the direction of the bed as Selephra stepped into the room, surprising the archfey in spite of herself. She peered closer, identifying the small lump beneath the blankets at the foot of the bed that appeared to be the source of the noise. Stepping lightly, she crossed to the edge of the bed and settled herself on it. “Mei? It's only me." There was no response from the lump save for a slight increase in volume as it edged further under the covers away from her.

With a slight exhale of frustration Selephra reached out and began to lift the blanket, exposing the Siamese cat beneath, it’s posture conveying it’s feral terror as it whirled at the movement of the blanket. Golden eyes flashing with a savage light, Mei hissed as she reached out blindly to scratch at her hand. Drawing back for a moment, Selephra cocked her head to the side, considering the growling cat for a moment before she willed the magic in her being to respond and do her bidding.

A moment later, to Mei’s eyes at least, Selephra’s form began to radiate with an unearthly light, her wild red curls gleaming like rose petals at dawn and her skin an emerald green. Like a wave, Selephra’s presence washed over her, bringing with it a feeling of calm that more external than internal. She could still feel the panic inducing terror but it was distantly, as though Selephra’s presence was vastly more important than it and paying attention to her fear would only do the archfey a grave insult. 

Through the calm she could feel a mounting shame and the feral light faded slightly from her eyes. With a small, contrite mew, she slunk forward, her body held low against the bed and her posture abnormally submissive as she stretched out her head to lick hesitantly at the hand she had scratched at. Slowly, Selephra reached out and ran her thumb across the center of Mei's forehead, pressing back as she pet along her head. Mei leaned into it, closing her eyes and pushing back against the hand as she instinctively sought for Selephra’s touch and the comfort it brought. But, for the first time, Mei did not purr as Selephra pet her. 

Eventually, she pulled back and pushed her way back under the covers. Shedding her cat shape once she was fully under them, she grabbed at the edges of her blanket and pulled it around herself as she sat upright, her ears pinned down and back and her face full of shame. She couldn’t bring herself to look directly at Selephra, the weight of whose presence was almost painful against the fluttering of the feelings that were already bound close to her heart. "Sorry..." She mumbled, "I didn't..." She stopped, swallowing heavily, "I didn't mean to scratch at you. I didn't realize it was you."

"It's fine. I did more than scratch when we first met." Selephra looked over at Mei for a moment, as the senri chuckled, though it was short and forced, before her hands smoothed over the corner of the bed, struggling to find something to do with them now that petting Mei was no longer a feasible option. "Would you like to talk about it?" She paused, her insecurities fighting to the surface once more. "You shouldn't ... if you don't want to, there's no need."

Mei ducked her head lower, her fingers tightening at the edges of the blanket, pulling it close as her knuckles turned white from the force of her grip. "I... It was just a dream." Her voice shook and her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I'm being stupid, I should be over this."

“Speaking as someone who spent a very long time in a very dark place," A sad look passed across Selephra’s face and she shook her head slowly. "We don't 'get over' something. Not really. Sometimes, we move past it, or someone forces us to see that there's something beyond it,” She cast a significant glance at Mei, meeting the golden eyes that shimmered behind lashes heavy with tears. “But we never truly 'get over' it." She paused for a moment, then, with an apprehensive furrow to her brow, reached out and laid a gentle hand on Mei's shoulder. "We learn to live with it."

Mei sobbed suddenly, the tears in her eyes rolling over her cheeks and splashing onto the blanket below, "The d-dreams went away in the past" She choked out. "I th-thought it was o-over" Her body visibly shaking, she looked up into Selephra's gaze, naked fear apparent in her eyes and a shudder of sympathy trailed down Selephra’s spine. 

Mei fought against the familiar rising swell of panic, the feeling that she needed to flee, to escape, to get out of the open. "It's not that I don't w-want to talk about it, I just..." Her sobbing changed as she spoke, growing from a quivering inhale to large, gasps that wracked her body and caused her to curl in on herself. Her chest rising and falling as she struggled to pull more air into her lungs. "I can't... I can't..."

The tears poured freely down her cheeks, the taste of the salt water of her tears on her tongue causing the panic to surge higher as, through her blurry vision, the room began to swim. It felt like someone was sitting on her chest as she struggled to breathe, and she could once again feel the impact of the Kraken's tentacle and the sensation of being pulled beneath the waves of the sea to drown.

Mei’s eyes fell closed as she felt Selephra’s arms wrap around her and pull her close and, for a moment, she struggled weakly, her limbs heavy and unresponsive like cotton. “No… Nooo!” She wailed on an exhale, “D-don’t… I can’t- _ can’t breath.” _ Mei whimpered slightly as Selephra tucked her head against her shoulder. She held herself tight and stiff, until she caught Selephra’s scent and her body slumped against the archfey’s, shaking violently with the force of her sobs.

Comfortingly, Selephra placed one hand on the back of Mei's head, cradling her in her arms. "There was a time, not very long ago, when you did this, for me. Whatever you need, Mei, I'm here." Mei hears the words, muffled though they sound to her with her ears pressed down by Selephra’s hand. The muffled sensation alarmed her for an entirely different reason and she fought against the sudden feeling that she was choking on cotton and stretching at seams that no longer existed. Still shuddering violently, she released the blanket and wrapped her arms loosely around Selephra's back, clinging to her warm figure as she buried her head at the crook of the fey woman’s neck and wept, unable to distinguish the room around them from the memories that chased at her heels. 

Selephra sat there with the crying senri in her arms, stroking Mei's back and holding her to her. She tried to let her feel safe enough to cry, to find that release, to let herself be vulnerable. She whispered small things to Mei, few of which Mei actually understood, but her voice was calming, if unsure. 

After a long while, a vibration began to rumble through Selephra's chest and neck and into Mei’s, as the Bramble Queen began to sing to her. It was an old song in Sylvan that she knew Mei probably wouldn’t recognize. But still, she sang, low and soft, the words a lullabye she learned a very long lifetime ago. 

Slowly, almost agonizingly so, the tension began to leech from Mei's body as the tears slowed, her sobs gradually replaced by hiccups until those too halted and she finally, finally, felt the dizzying swirl of color and sound that had become her world, settle into the warm arms around her and the comforting Sylvan lullaby. She clung tighter to Selephra for a moment, glad to finally be able to move again without feeling the weight of toy limbs, before she pulled back slightly. "I'm sorry..." She whispers, glancing up to meet Selephra's eyes. "I didn't mean to fall apart but thank you for staying with me while I did."

"You did the same for me," Selephra says, before her hand comes up to wipe away Mei's tears. "How could I do anything less?"

Mei smiled, a small but sincere turn of her lips, as she closed her eyes and leaned into Selephra's hand. "All the same..." She murmured before opening her eyes again, and this time the gold of them glittered with a fragile determination. "I want to tell you." She reached up and held Selephra's hand against her cheek for a moment, drawing strength from the contact before she whispered, "About Baba Yaga's hut." A shiver ran through her as she said the words and her lip quivered slightly before she set her chin stubbornly against the fear.

"If you want. It's obvious whatever happened there was traumatic for you." Selephra murmured cautiously, her eyes on the hand holding hers in place.

"I do... It was but..." Mei forced out a laugh, "Clearly I'm having no luck repressing it and I haven't... I didn't tell the others... Didn't want to." She sighed. "I was having nightmares before, when we were in the past, but Kallista was gone and Runa was struggling, I was able to cope and eventually I just… Stopped having them... But whatever helped before clearly wasn't a permanent solution." She lifted her other hand to wrap them both around Selephra’s.

Selephra’s eyes followed their clasped hands to where Mei held it just before her chest, and then shot back up to her face for a few seconds before finally looking away, towards the bed. With her free hand, she reached forward and pulled the sheets back, drawing them up to Mei's shoulders and draping them over her arms. Her actions drew Mei’s attention to her sleeping robe, which laid tangled amidst the sheets, and her face drained of color for a moment before slowly turning as red as Selephra’s hair.

"I'm sorry you didn't have someone to talk to." Selephra said quietly, her voice simultaneously both solemn and tactful.

"...Thank you." Mei whispered in return, the gratitude both for the sympathy and for Selephra’s tacit refusal to mention Mei’s nudity. She released her hold on Selephra's hand to draw the sheets back around her. Then, with a deep breath she steeled herself before starting in on the story of their excursion to Baba Yaga's hut. From the very beginning of being dropped from Runa’s maw through the window into the ballroom to the fight with the illusory Iggwilv. She was clearly frustrated with herself when she described falling for the obvious trap of the chessboard and her eyes took on a haunted light when she spoke about her experience as a toy and wandering through the illusory dreamscapes of her friends.

Selephra listened silently, frowning at the descriptions of the horrors of the hut, her brow furrowed as Mei reached the part about being turned into a toy and then again as she spoke of the illusions. When Mei seemed particularly troubled as she stumbled through the description of waiting in the darkness of the illusion she clasped Mei’s hands in hers again, looking down at her as the senri continued to describe what happened.

Mei got through about half of the illusory story, before Selephra’s hands grip tightened  _ hard _ around her hands.  "... Runa told the dragon to ... to eat you?" she asks, her voice hard. Mei glanced up at her, shocked out of her reverie by the pain. 

The concerned expression on Selephra’s face had been replaced by something much different. Her brown eyes blazed with anger and rage, her hair began to whip about her like vines. Mei could see some of her skin begin to take on the old aspect she had when she first saw her as the Bramble Queen. Her skin like bark, her veins like thorns.

"She ordered ... a  _ dragon _ ... to  _ eat _ you?" 

Selephra’s voice was rough, dangerous even and the haunted glaze over Mei's eyes was replaced by concern and the smallest touch of fear as Selephra's fury transforms her. She wasn’t afraid for herself, just like she wasn’t afraid the first time she saw Selephra this way, but she was afraid for Selephra should she allow herself to be swallowed by the fury again. 

"Yes..." Mei whispered, feeling the familiar ache of betrayal as she admitted that it happened at all. She shook her head hard against the hurt and pulled their clasped hands upwards so that she could press a firm kiss to Selephra's knuckles. 

Mei knew that her actions might’ve been pushing the limit of what was acceptable from her at the moment but she needed to distract herself as much as she needed to distract Selephra. "It doesn't matter." She said firmly when she pulled her lips away. "It wasn't real and I have already forgiven her for that. I told you that one of the reasons I didn't talk to the others was because Runa was struggling. She needed them more than I did."

As soon as Mei’s lips touched Selephra’s skin, she froze. The hair that had been flailing about stopped, falling back down as the familiar tumble of curls as she stared at Mei. Then, the bark began to fade, the thorny look vanishing as she willed her glamour to reassert itself, the illusions that she normally kept up starting to return along with it.

" _ She _ was real, but..." She paused, then cast her gaze down at the hand Mei held tightly. "I don't know why you and the others..." She halted again and finally sighed. "Never mind. What is important, is a what  _ you _ need." Cautiously, her other hand came up to cup Mei's.

Mei laughed, the sound far more genuine than before, "It  _ was _ pretty fucked up. It's nice to have someone agree on that without any of the reservations or excuses. There's obviously more that was going on with Runa at the time but it's not my place to say and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't excuse her actions. But she apologized and it's just... It's so much harder to be angry at someone. So I forgave her."

She swallowed heavily then, glancing down at their joined hands. "I think I need to finish this but the next part..." She shivered under the weight of the blanket, "There's more to it than just what happened in the hut. It's..." She paused again, frustrated with her inability to explain herself. "It's a much longer tale to explain why it happened at all, let alone why it affected me..."

Selephra nodded slowly then stood, letting go of Mei's hands with one of hers and drawing her up off the bed. "I think I have something that will help." 

Mei pulls back for a moment, grabbing the sleeping robe that was discarded when she shifted and throwing it on beneath the cover of the blanket before retaking Selephra’s hand and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet and out of the room. Selephra led her back to the central room of her home, guiding her to sit down in a wooden chair before a table that seemed to rise straight up out of the wood of the floor, before heading over to a small counter on the side.

With a wave of her hand, a flame lit in the stove top. “"Is jasmine alright, or do you have something else you would like?" Selephra called to Mei as she reached for the t

"No, jasmine sounds perfect, thank you."

Selephra busied herself with the process of making tea, before coming back with the pot and a few handleless cups. Setting one before Mei, she poured into the both of them, before sitting down opposite her. 

"Something I've found of late," She said slowly, bringing the cup to her lips. "Tea helps with the nerves, and if you still have the dreams," She paused and a shadow crossed her face, the darkness lingering behind her eyes for a moment before vanishing. "I have something stronger."

Mei took a sip of her tea and sighed gratefully before her eyes focused sharply on Selephra's expression. "...If you ever want to talk about your own dreams, you know I'm here for you. As for something stronger..." She flushed and rubbed a still shaking hand over her face. "The silver vine you had Kallista give me was doing wonders."

"I meant coffee," Selephra replied with a quirked brow, her voice dry. "But I am glad you enjoy it." Her glamour faltered as she contemplated Mei’s offer and over the brim of her cup Mei could see the thorn-like lines on her skin as she turned her head away. "One benefit to being eladrin and fey. I rarely dream. ...even more rarely now."

Mei looked mortified at her misconception but her embarrassment faded slightly to curiosity when the glamour shifted. "Is it hard? Keeping the illusion up?" She hesitates glancing at Selephra’s hand, her own fingers tingling with the desire to reach across the table and take it. "... You don't have to."

Selephra’s gaze shot up, surprised at Mei’s question and at herself for allowing her control to slip so easily, as the glamour returned with a shimmer of magic. "I... I have grown accustomed to it. It ..." She frowned, her shoulders tensing. "It is easier. Safe. Like a mask. Easier than ... Than letting others see."

"I... I understand. I've worn my fair share of masks. Keeping others at arm’s length..." She trailed off, her expression hesitant but hopeful, "I won't ask you to let go of it, but... I hope one day it's not one you feel you have to wear. For yourself or others... And for what it's worth..." She stared down into the tea cup, taking a sip to bolster herself. "I think you look lovely either way."

Selephra simply looked back down into her cup, before quietly responding, "You don't need to lie to me, Mei. And we're not here to talk about me. We were here to talk about your dreams." She didn’t want to talk about the changes, about the charade. What she wanted to do was help the woman who had already helped her. 

Mei pursed her lips at the deflection and accusation, peeved. "Fine, but I  _ wasn't _ lying. I am a terrible liar." Her expression turned considering as she took another sip of tea and then set the cup down gently before her, silently pleased that her hand no longer shook. "I suppose for the next part I should start by saying that  _ this _ ," As she spoke, she turned and lifted her hair, exposing the top of the kraken mark where it rose above her robe and up her neck, "Is  _ not _ a tattoo. It's a pact mark."

Selephra leaned forward to examine the mark, then met Mei’s gaze where she looked back over her shoulder. "A pact with what?"

She dropped her hair and, clenching her hands together in her lap, whispered "The ship devouring sea monster, the Kraken..."

"I have no idea what that is." Selephra replied, her expression confused and thoughtful.

Mei laughed, not terribly surprised that Selephra wasn’t aware of the beast’s existence, "That's a relief. You would've scolded me for being stupid if you had." Her expression twisted, souring slightly as she continued, "It's an ancient beast, as much myth as fact. It offered me a deal, power in exchange for my soul when I died... And I took it. And then I died."

"Only you died in Cerunnos' company." Selephra nodded, immediately making the connection between Mei’s death and her new pact. "He made you a member of the hunt, and your bond with the beast was broken."

Mei nodded, a weak smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Kallista didn't have the context of my pact with the Kraken when she heard about Cerunnos killing me. It was very funny. She almost choked on her food. It wasn't completely broken though, or the mark would have disappeared... I told you before that though I loved the sea I couldn't return to the material plane's oceans. It wants its end of the bargain."

"So you can't go back. And why you prize having a ship that can sail the skies."

Mei grinned. "I do love my ship." Her smile faded as she bit her lip. "After I managed to convince Runa that I was real and that we were in an illusion I told her to dispel it. She said she had already tried casting the spell on the world and I told her she was being dumb and that she should cast it on herself. She did. And I was left in the dark again. And then... I wasn't. I was on a ship in the material plane and Hoof was there but... It was so real. I could taste the salt in the air and I thought I must be safe. It was an illusion, and not even one meant for me. I wanted to stay... I didn't want to go back to the hut where I saw corpses disguised as candy and a room full of the most unspeakable curses."

"Few would. The grandmother of hags is not a being to trifle with."

"I should have though... I should have grabbed Hoof and done what I could to wake us both up." She whispered. "A storm began to fill the sky. The sea turned black. And I could feel it. Under my skin." The blood drained from her face and she began to shake again, her eyes distant as she recounted the events. "A tentacle emerged from the water and slammed into us. I was thrown off the ship and... And I-I was drowning. I couldn't... I couldn't breath. I was dying..."

"And then?" She prompted gently as Mei’s voice trailed off and she appeared to struggle with the memory of a sailor’s greatest fear.

Selephra’s voice broke through the memory and Mei shook herself slightly, dragging herself away from the fear once more. "And then... I  _ wasn't _ . Aifé's simulacrum did something to wake me up from outside the vision. We fought with Iggwilv, managed to convince her sister that she wasn't real and then  _ she _ wasn't. And we left."

Selephra took Mei's cup and refilled it, before sliding it back into her hand. "And the dreams started after that."

"Yes..." She nodded, "It was slow to start, but within a week I was only getting a couple hours of sleep and I assumed part of it was the Ring of Winter but it's long gone now. The only times I didn't have any dreams..." She snapped her mouth shut.

"... yes?" Selephra prompted gently, still concerned as she looked at the suddenly quiet Mei. "What helped you not have dreams?"

Mei shook her head, pink blooming on her cheeks as she glanced down into the full cup and taking a drink. "I don't think that's an option."

"Why not?"

"... I wasn't sleeping alone."

"Ah." An odd look crossed Selephra's face as an old feeling, one which she hadn’t felt in a very long time blossomed in her chest. She forced it away before she could recognize the jealousy for what it was, and then busied herself with her own tea. "Well, I'm sure someone like you wouldn't have much trouble finding someone to share your bed."

Mei's frustration was clear on her face in the pout of her lip and the furrow of her brow, but even she couldn’t tell how much of it was directed at herself and how much of it was at Selephra's implication, "Yes well, I had to leave my sister in Yangzhai when someone tried to assassinate us in the middle of the night, I left Wonton with her for protection, and the last person I shared my bed with any non platonic intentions with was a while ago and she burst into tears and cried herself to sleep... So... More trouble than you seem to expect."

Selephra blinked, and for a moment, her expression seemed guilty.

"I'm sorry. About your sister, and your tiger. I thought you'd left him on the ship."

Mei sighed and slowly shook her head, "It's fine, you didn't know and they're both okay. Fan Rong is tough enough to have raised me since I was 13 and Wonton is a hunt steed. I can summon him if I need him. But I got her into the mess with the assassins and almost did irreparable damage with my presence so leaving him to help protect her was the very least I could do."

"Still..." Selephra took another sip, her guilt lingering for the motivations behind her earlier statement, then glanced at Mei over the rim of her cup. "So, is that the reason? The dreams? Of being turned into a doll and of a sea monster dragging you down into the depths?"

"At least those are the most frequent and detailed. I get... flashes sometimes of other parts. Snippets of the other things I saw in the hut and things that didn't happen but could have." She drained the rest of her cup and wrapped her arms around herself. "I wake up panicking and more often than not I shift, because even though my mind knows I am weaker and less capable of protecting myself in that form... My instincts tell me to run and hide. I came out of it hidden in a barrel on the lowest deck of the ship the other night..."

"In other words, you don't feel safe." Selephra moved to pour another cup for her, then stopped, an idea forming in her mind. She pursed her lips, thinking it over before her eyes dart back to Mei again. "You're turning into the form you feel is smallest and least visible. The easiest to hide in. And when you feel safe, you don't dream."

For a moment Mei considers the logic before nodding in agreement, "That makes sense, honestly." She ducked her head down, "I don't feel safe very often though. I've been a pirate since I was six years old. The tension sunk into my bones a long time ago. It's hard to release it..." She trailed off for a moment. 

"But thank you." She looked back up at Selephra, her expression earnest and vulnerable. "It means a lot for me to have someone to talk to about this. The fear isn't gone... Not entirely... But it doesn't feel like I'm drowning in it anymore."

Selephra returned Mei’s gaze for a moment, before her cheeks started to color as she made her decision and she stood up from the table. "One moment."

She returned to the stove, and pulled a different pouch of leaves from the cabinet. Coming back, she sprinkled some into Mei's cup, grinding them with a pestle, before pouring in the water over them. Once it had enough time to steep, she slid it over into Mei's hand.

"Let's get you to bed. Dreamless, this time."

Mei watched Selephra prepare the tea, her eyes filled with an earnest, lonely longing as her golden eyes followed the fey woman’s form as she moved about the kitchen area. She cast her gaze back down as Selephra turned back and handed her the cup. "Thank you." She murmured, glancing back up to meet Selephra's eyes, her expression warm and grateful. Tilting her head she lifted the drink, giving it a curious sniff, inhaling the light scent before draining the cup obediently, letting the taste of apples linger on her tongue. 

Once Mei was finished, Selephra took Mei's hand and led her back to her room, leaving the cups and teapot to clean later. She guided Mei, who was clearly tired from the conversation and crying as she was half dozing where she stood by this point, back towards the bed, fixing the blankets as Mei climbed, yawning widely, back into the sheets. Once in the bed she curls up on her side, her eyes watching Selephra and her expression warm and content.

She watched, her expression fading from sleepy contentment to shock as Selephra settled herself on the edge of the bed, adjusted her shift and then swung her legs in beneath the sheets before pulling the blankets up over both of them. The shock faded quickly in favor of a blissful smile, her cheeks tinged with pink as she smiled up at Selephra. She rumbled out a purr and said, with a bemused lilt to her voice, "Fair warning. I like to cuddle."

Selephra simply responded to Mei with a  _ look _ , part exasperated part amused and part embarrassed, to which Mei schooled her expression into one that was suitably contrite, though her lips twitched visibly from her effort in suppressing her smile. Selephra rolled her eyes before reaching over to turn Mei around so that the senri was facing away from her and sliding in behind her, pressing her chest to Mei's back. "Just breathe. The tea should help you sleep. I'll keep the dreams away." 

Mei’s purr redoubled in intensity along with her heartbeat as Selephra situated them. She snuggled closer, her eyes clenched tight as she tried to remember how to breathe normally. Her breathlessness didn’t feel suffocating like it did before, more like she was flying too high in the Honghua and the air was thinning but she couldn’t even begin to care for the thrill of it all kept her going.

Selephra reached up, delicately running one hand through Mei's hair, brushing at the base of her ears as she did. "Sleep, kitten. It's my turn to help you find some peace." 

Slowly Mei settled, allowing the fatigue and the tea to remind her of how truly exhausted she was, and with a soft, “Wǒ shì  _ nǐ de _ xiǎo māo…(我是 _ 你的 _ 小猫)” She slipped into a peaceful sleep with Selephra at her back, covers pulled up to her chin, and a hand very gently stroking through her hair.

* * *

 

The following morning Mei woke with the sun, feeling rested and light despite the late hours of their conversation. The open roof of Selephra's home meant that the whole space became faintly lit with dappled sunlight as it filtered through the leafy boughs above them, keeping off the worst of the morning light in favor of simply giving everything a lovely, soft glow. As her eyes opened she took a moment to appreciate the snatches of clear sky and the colors of the sunrise that she could see above her. The desire to bask in the sunlight and impossible warmth of Selephra’s home (considering the season) almost overtook her as her eyes fluttered shut once more, taking a deep breath and turning her head to the side as she did so. 

The inhalation flooded her senses with Selephra’s scent and she froze, suddenly acutely aware of the weight of an arm slung over her waist and a foot tangled with her own. She remembered how they had fallen asleep and her half-joke about liking to snuggle. Her pulse roared in her ears, a flush rising hotly up her neck, as she slowly cast her gaze over her shoulder and assessed her situation. 

During the night Selephra had shifted closer to her, the arm that had been petting her hair settled over the senri’s waist instead, holding her tight against Selephra’s chest. Her nose was buried in the hair at the nape of Mei’s neck, the soft breaths tickling down the back of her sleeping robe and causing her fur to rise in response. She seemed completely unfazed by the light of the morning and if not for the steady, unforgettable reminder that she still breathed Mei might’ve been concerned by her state. 

Mei’s conscience urged her to shift, cuddling with a cat was normal and completely platonic. It would spare them both the embarrassment and Mei the now familiar disappointment that she felt whenever the archfey rejected her touch, even if not verbally. She knew better than to push Selephra into situations that would make her uncomfortable. She could understand the pain that would make her hesitant to trust and the history that made her draw away from intimate gestures. But Mei  _ also _ knew that she, herself,  _ craved _ the contact. She could wait forever if she had to but patience didn’t make it any less painful... Didn’t make her any less aware of the feelings she hid. 

The small, selfish voice in her mind fought back, it wasn’t her fault they had ended up in such a position. She had been on her best behaviour and she could take the comfort Selephra had offered, even if she wasn’t aware she had done so. In fact, the way they were currently positioned made it clear that Mei hadn’t initiated the snuggling... Wouldn’t it be more embarrassing if she simply remained this way without reciprocating? If she doubled down… Then they were equally at fault. 

Her mind, hazy with the way the soft breaths at neck sent the fluttering of those soft feelings into overdrive, accepted the logical leaps and a sly grin spread slowly across her lips. She rolled slowly in Selephra’s grasp, careful not to wake her, as her own arm slipped gently beneath the one at her waist. She pulled her close, freeing her hair from beneath the archfey and pillowing Selephra’s head on her shoulder instead. Their feet had become separated in the maneuver so she freed a leg from her robe and slipped it between Selephra’s. Mei waited for a moment to see if she had disturbed her sleep but Selephra seemed unfazed and only snuggled closer, burying her face against Mei’s neck and clinging tighter to her.

A swell of emotion surged in Mei’s chest, powerful like the crest of an ocean wave threatening to over take her and she blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. She ducked her head and placed a firm kiss against the top of Selephra’s hair. She knew she might come to regret her actions when Selephra woke but everything was worth that little snatched moment of quiet, private intimacy. She laid there awake for a while after, memorizing how Selephra felt tucked against her in case it never happened again, but eventually she succumbed to the instinct to nap in the soft light of the sun.

It wasn’t until hours later that Selephra began to stir, her shifting rousing the still napping Mei with her. Groggily she pushed herself upright, her hair a chaotic mess and her brown eyes blurry with the influence of the tea she drank to help herself sleep but could be hard to shake off. She looked down at Mei, blinking slowly as she tried to process what was going on. For some reason her arms were planted on either side of the senri, who was only now just was opening her eyes and returning the sleepy gaze, and she hovered over her, a leg slotted between Mei’s at the knee. The dappled light fell across them, and it all just seemed so… Surreal. Perhaps she was dreaming? She cast the thought aside, not wanting to think to deeply about it, before a yawn broke from her lips and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. 

"Did that help?" Selephra asked, her voice slightly raspy and tickling in her throat. "The dreams, I mean."

Mei’s eyelashes rose and fell slowly as she hummed in contentment and mumbled a sleepy, “Good morning, Shuì měirén (睡美人).” The foreign language was strange in Selephra’s ears but she’d heard Mei use snatches of it before when she wasn’t quite thinking about it. She almost asked again but when Mei’s eyes reopened they were full of emotion, full of what Selephra could only painfully hope was affection. 

Mei just looked up at Selephra, watching her quietly, assessing her pronounced state of dishabille. The 'sleep' hair that she had seen the night before is the same, long crimson waves turning to messy curls that cascaded over her shoulders and down to the tops of her arms. One strap of her shift hung loose, dangling down the side of her arm and threatening to take the rest of the sleep garment with it, and in her grogginess, it seemed as though her glamour was beginning to slip again, although it seemed somehow different from when her rage at Runa the previous night had disrupted it. Mei couldn’t make out too much detail beneath the hair covering her face, but at the very least the bark-like complexion of her skin seemed to have returned. Realizing suddenly that Selephra was still waiting for an answer she nodded and pushed herself up onto her elbows, bringing their faces shockingly close to each other. “Only good dreams, I promise."

In contrast to Selephra's sleep mussed appearance Mei was surprisingly put together. Only a few of her long black hairs remained out of place as she sat up, and those that did were only at the base of her ears where Selephra had fell asleep petting them the night before. Her eyes were tinged with red and slightly puffy from crying so much the previous night but had faded significantly since she went to sleep. "Best sleep I've had in weeks." She continued with a smile before yawning with an accompanying slow, feline stretch that Selephra followed with her eyes.

Mei, warm and well-rested from the nap and slightly high off of the physical closeness, relaxed, content to watch this Selephra who was so different from how she normally saw her. ‘Defenseless.’ She thought, a coy smile teasing the corner of her lips, as she eyed the loose strap with interest, ‘That’s a good word for it.’ Unthinking, she reached up to carefully tuck some of Selephra’s loose hair behind her ear.

Selephra leaned forward instinctively at the touch of Mei’s hand, palms roughened slightly from years of hard labour, on her cheek, before her body sagged downwards, drooping back towards the bed, her weight of her arm across Mei’s chest pulling the senri down to the sheets with her as she succumbed to the lure of the bed. The sudden movement startled a laugh from the senri as her head hit the pillow and Selephra, still dazed by sleep can only marvel at the sound of it. “That’s good.” She murmured absently. “I’m glad…” A yawn broke off her sentence before she continued, still not quite ready to wake up fully, “Glad I could help.” She squirmed closer to the warm body beside her, snuggling back into Mei’s shoulder her nose brushing along Mei’s neck as she sought to return to the comfortable position she’d woken up in.

Strong arms reached out, wrapping gently around Selephra holding her close. Mei’s cheek settled against the top of Selephra’s head and with one hand stroking her back, she began to hum the snippets she can remember of the sylvan lullabye Selephra had sung to her the night before. They stayed like that for a while, Mei surprised and pleased that Selephra hadn’t seemed to panic at the intimacy and Selephra, slowly waking from her daze, thoughts milling through her mind before she cautiously whispered, “Mei?”

“Hmm?”

"Did," She mumbled into Mei's neck, her cheeks pink and her heartbeat speeding up. "Did you really mean what you said last night? About me?"

She could feel Mei shift her head against her hair, a small sideways tilt that meant she was considering something. "As far as I can recall I have never said anything about you that I didn't mean." She smiled, "We did talk a lot last night though, it might help if you remind me?"

"About my glamour," Selephra clarified, her voice low and halting as she tried to explain, "I ... I'm not the same person I was before ... everything. I pretend I am, that I'm still that fey princess, that my time waiting and my rage never changed me, but she ... she was a very different person from me." She pulled back, enough to look up into Mei's face, trying to see the duplicity, the deceit, she was  _ sure _ had to be behind the guileless golden eyes. "Did you mean what you said, about seeing ... me?"

Mei smiled down at her, meeting her gaze with a steady sincerity, her expression open and honest, and she couldn’t see it. Couldn’t see the dishonesty she expected to be there. "I never knew that Selephra, but while I stand by saying that it doesn't matter to me how you look... Lovely  _ was _ a bit of an understatement."

A pained expression crossed Selephra’s face before she sighed and pushed herself up into a sitting position, not missing the disappointed look on Mei’s face as she left the warm circle of her arms. She would just have to make her see the truth, then, even Mei would be unable to hide her lies. She bit the inside of her lips for a moment, fear of the inevitable rejection making her hesitate, before she closed her eyes. Surely it would hurt less now than if she waited for it to come later. A slight shimmer appeared in the air around her form, like a heat haze as she released the glamours she had kept up, and in its wake… She changed.

She was thinner than she seemed under the glamours. Too thin. Like someone who hasn't, or at least hadn't, eaten in too long a time. Deep, dark circles laid beneath her eyes, and her skin returned to the bark-like complexion that had slipped through before. She opened her eyes but didn’t…  _ Couldn’t _ look at Mei. Selephra was gaunt, with a lost look to her, and Mei watched silently as her shoulders started to rise, as though part of her simply wanted to shrink away. She didn’t want to see the rejection. Couldn’t bring herself to look up into the eyes that were undoubtedly filled with disgust. She starts to rise, to leave.

Mei merely tilted her head at her, considering the transformation, before reaching out before Selephra could stand and tugging her back to her. She wrapped the trembling woman up in her arms before she could pull away from the touch. Now wasn’t the moment to be hesitant with her, not when she so clearly needed reassurance. “Like I said, lovely is an  _ understatement _ . You’re absolutely  _ stunning _ . You don’t see what I see yet, but that’s ok. I’ll see it for you. The woman who suffered but chose to be strong, how could I ever see that as anything  _ but _ beautiful?” Dipping her chin she placed a soft kiss on Selephra’s forehead before she could overthink the impulse.

Something dripped down onto the skin of Mei’s neck, and though she was muffled slightly, Selephra’s shaky voice rang out, "Why? Wh-why are you like this? Torrheval ... He couldn't stand the sight of me. I was a monster to him, and ..." Her voice cracked under the weight of the pain and she cut herself off, her shoulders shaking inside Mei's grasp.

Mei frowned severely as she growled, "Torrheval was a hún dàn (混蛋)." She rubbed a comforting hand along Selephra's back. "Did you know that if it wasn't for Kallista holding me back from absolutely destroying the timeline... I would have killed him for you." She shook her head slightly, "You are  _ not _ a monster, Selephra, no matter how anybody looks at you."

She pulled back from Mei’s form, not angrily - slowly, carefully, before looking hesitantly up into Mei's face. She met Mei's eyes for a moment, searching again but less surprised this time to find no deceit there. What did surprise her was the heat of Mei’s anger, directed at a man she had only met for one brief conversation. Was she angry  _ for _ her? She blinked, then shook away the thought. "I know you mean that, but ... Mei, that's what I  _ am _ . I wasted away waiting for him.  _ I should be dead _ . And when I found him, when he... I killed him, Mei... I nearly killed you, and your friends, simply because Kallista reminded me of what I was. Of what  _ we _ were. So why?" She asked, her gaze still searching, as though Mei hid some key to her redemption. "Why are you so sure I'm not?"

Mei wrinkled her nose, frustrated and upset by Selephra’s belief, “You are _not_! You waited for him because you loved him. You probably survived because that amount of love and concern was in such excess that it tapped into the very nature of the feywild and the magic itself sustained you. You killed him because he betrayed you. And please.” She scoffed, her eyes rolling in exasperation, “If you wanted to kill us, _you_ _would have_. What do you want me to tell you, Selephra? Maybe it’s not something I can so easily put into words… But that doesn’t make it any less true.” She buried her face in her hands for a moment before through her hands she bit out something in Tien that Selephra didn’t understand but knew that she hadn’t heard her say before, “ _Wǒ ài nǐ_ (我爱你).” Her voice was strained with the significance of the words but also the knowledge that they would not be understood.

She lifted her head from her hands and met Selephra’s gaze. Her walls were down and for the first time Selephra could see a tidal wave of emotion in them. Selephra’s eyes darted from one to the other, reading the emotion, trying to decipher them without being swept away. After a long moment she glanced away, suddenly shy. "I don't ... I'm not sure I believe you, but ... the fact that you think that ..." She looked back up into Mei's eyes, a very weak smile crossing her lips. "Thank you, Mei." She leaned forward, resting her head on Mei's shoulder once again. "Thank you for not hating me."

Mei huffed, her lip jutting out in a pout. She was irritated at herself for relying on a language Selephra didn’t speak to say the words she wanted to get out, “I already told you I’d see you that way because I knew you didn’t. It’s fine if you don’t believe me yet. But just so you know, ‘ _ not hating you _ ’ is another very large understatement.” 

She wrapped her arms tighter around Selephra leaning her head against hers gently as she whispered. "I could never hate you." Selephra stiffened slightly, unable to believe that this was happening, before she forced herself to relax into the embrace. She hesitated before slipping her arms around Mei’s back, clinging to her as if she could prevent her from vanishing when she inevitably woke from this pleasant dream.

"Thank you," She said again, before leaning upward and pressing her lips to Mei's cheek and feeling her lean into the touch. "You do realize, I was supposed to be taking care of you after last night."

“You did take care of me. You did an excellent job. And then I took care of you. It’s almost like we were taking care of each other.” Mei replied her voice dry but the corners of her lips turned upwards in a small smile.

"Is anything  _ not _ a joke to you?" Selephra chuckled, her laugh quiet and unsure. It had been such a long time since she laughed just because she was happy. 

Mei chuckled with Selephra before humming thoughtfully at the question. “Sure there’s plenty of things I don’t joke about. But why would I not make a joke if doing so means I get to hear you laugh?” She grinned and her eyebrows lifted slightly, “I like to think it makes me charming but I’m pretty sure my enemies just find it annoying.”

"Honestly," Selephra said before shifting closer to Mei. "I think it's kind of a _ mei _ zing."

Mei stilled, before a pleased smile stretched across her face and she flushed scarlet. "Did you just...?"

Selephra met Mei’s questioning gaze with a sheepish expression. "Did I do it right?"

Mei nodded fiercely, "Yes you did purrfect. You grow girl." She fanned her face slightly, "I think you just broke me a little. Give me a second."

"Really?" She reached up and placed the back of her hand against Mei's forehead. "You do look a little flushed."

Mei pouted down at her, “Don’t tease me Selephra. You made a pun with my name, of course I’m gonna blush.” But she pressed her forehead into Selephra’s hand anyways.

"You do look a little  _ rosy _ ," She tried again, moving slightly closer once more, as Mei snorted out a laugh, her eyes closing and Selephra could tell she approved of the pun. But then as Mei’s eyes reopened, she froze, looking down into Mei's face as she realized how close they were. She was barely more than two inches away now, dressed in a thin shift and lying against a woman in a night robe. 

As she stared down into the yellow eyes she realized was close enough now to see the flecks of brown around the edges, her smile began to fade, cheeks turning red. Her face fell, the amusement fading as it was replaced by...  _ Fear _ . Confusion and worry and something that even she couldn’t really define, but there was longing too and ultimately she was practically on top of Mei and she just looked  _ lost _ .

The shift in the mood was sudden enough to startle Mei and she frowned with genuine concern and alarm. “Selephra?” She tried gently, cocking her head to the side in her confusion as she tried desperately to assess the emotions in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” She squirmed slightly under Selephra’s scrutiny, too worried about the other woman to be completely aware of how close they are but not completely oblivious to the fact either.

"I haven't ... Mei, the last person I ... Torr, he ..." Selephra looked at Mei, pleading overcoming the fear in her eyes. "Mei, I ... Before Torr, I just ... Things just  _ happened _ and now, I ... I have no idea what I'm doing."

“Shhh, Selephra it’s  _ ok _ ” Mei reassured her quickly, relief flooding her with the realization that she hadn’t done anything wrong. With a gentle smile she lifted her hands to cup Selephra’s cheeks, thumbs brushing lightly across her cheekbones. “First off, you don’t have to push yourself to do something if you don’t feel ready for it. It’s about time someone showed  _ you _ the patience you deserve. Secondly, if you think you’re ready for something but you don’t know how to go about it... You can ask me. I don’t bite...” She smiled after a moment, “Unless you want me too.”

A long pause hung between them as Selephra looked down at Mei, her face held in Mei's hands. She envied the way the senri seemed unruffled by the situation, the way she always had a response. Seeing an opportunity to turn the tables she asked, "And if  _ I _ want to?"

Mei’s cheeks tinted with pink and Selephra was pleased to see not just the expected surprise at the question but also  _ eagerness _ in her expression. “You do?” She glanced down at Selephra’s lips and back up at her eyes, her expression hopeful. There was fear there too, but only that she was jumping to conclusions and that they weren’t actually talking about the same thing anymore. “There’s very little you could do right now that I wouldn’t appreciate.” She breathed out.

Looking into Mei's eyes, watching for any kind of reservation, Selephra leaned in and pressed her lips to Mei's.

Mei's eyes fell shut just before their lips connected after watching Selephra for the same emotions. Kissing Selephra was definitely a unique experience. There was a spice to her, a taste unlike any woman or man from the material plane that Mei had ever been with. Her scent flooded Mei’s senses with the smell of jasmine and a hint of sandalwood, and despite the gaunt look to her cheeks and her treebark complexion, her lips were as soft as Mei could imagine.

In that moment Mei was absolutely sure that she was dreaming but she smiled against Selephra's lips anyway, her head tilting and lips parting just enough for them to fit better together and was rewarded with the feeling of Selephra melting against her. The tension from fear and worry, from the possibility that Mei might feel differently, that she might fear her, cringe from her, the perception of herself as a monster, all of it drained away as she settled against Mei with all the relief of a soldier falling into bed after finally,  _ finally _ coming home. 

Mei trailed her hands up from where she had been cupping Selephra's face to thread her fingers through the wild red curls as she returned Selephra's hesitant kiss with ones that are tender and lingering, each brush of her lips full of the emotions she'd been holding back. Selephra let out a soft whine as the calloused fingers skimmed across her scalp, but only pressed closer to the senri beneath her. Her hands came up to return the favor, cupping Mei's face as she let herself be vulnerable for the first time since she sat in Tchazzar's cave weeping into the fur of a small, amber-eyed siamese cat.

When the tension left Selephra, it took Mei’s with it. A rolling purr rumbled to life between them as she rubbed small circles against Selephra’s scalp. The whine she let out causing Mei to draw back just enough to let out a chuckle and a sultry, murmured, “Cute…” Before the hands cupping her face drew her back, with no resistance offered against it. She nuzzled her nose against Selephra’s, playful and affectionate as she redoubled her efforts to thoroughly convey her feelings for the archfey with her kisses.

The nuzzle surprised Selephra, the intimacy of the action different somehow than that of the kiss. The kiss sent raw heat flooding through her but the small, sweet gesture felt more like a balm against old wounds. She cast aside her shock and pressed closer to Mei, pushing her down against the sheets. As Selephra laid her body atop hers one of Mei’s legs hitched upwards, drawing slowly across Selephra’s thigh as she did so. One of her hands freed itself from Selephra’s hair and moved to rest instead at her waist, fingers drawing small circles into the fabric of her shift. 

Meanwhile, Selephra’s mouth moved from Mei's lips to her cheek, then her jaw, then her neck, Mei’s chin lifting automatically to provide her access as soft noises and small gasps of pleasure slipped from her lips. Selephra’s eyes were hazy with lust when she finally pulled away but her expression was like a panicked deer with no idea what she was supposed to do. "Mei," She said, her voice barely above a whisper and filled with want. 

“Xiǎo tián? (Sweetheart)” Mei murmured, confused as Selephra pulled away. 

"I haven't ... not since ... I am very out of practice here. Mei, do you want more? Should I ..." She trailed off, that lost, wanting look still resting in her eyes as she looked down at the woman beneath her. Mei looked considerably more undone than she had when she woke, her hair was splayed out on the pillows and the flush of excitement and desire was visible high on her shoulders and cheeks. Her robe had come undone slightly from her attempts to free her leg and hung off her shoulders in a way that sent shivers down Selephra’s spine and burned at her rationality. But it was her eyes that showed Selephra the most, her pupils so dilated with lust and pleasure that only a sliver of the gold of her irises still showed at all, turning them into black pools that Selephra could’ve drowned in. 

Mei smiled slowly, the hand in Selephra’s hair pulling her in for a lingering kiss. When Mei finally pulled away it wasn’t far and she gazed lovingly up into Selephra’s eyes before placing a quick kiss on her nose, shocking the archfey with the gesture as much as she had with the nuzzle and a small smile spread across her face in response to it, “I want as much as you are willing to give me. What do  _ you _ want right now?”

Moving slow, Selephra pushed herself off of Mei, just enough to swing one leg over her waist. Her shift hiked up as she settled into the position, the loose strap falling a little further before she flipped her hair to the side and laid a kiss at the hollow of Mei's neck.

"Everything," She purred, her hands finding the edges of Mei's robe before running them slowly, achingly slowly, down the center, until the robe began to open. Her lips found Mei's collarbone and she scraped her teeth ever so slightly over her skin. "I want  _ everything _ ."

Mei jolted at the playful use of teeth, a pleased mewl slipping from her lips before she retaliated with an open mouthed kiss to Selephra’s ear, nipping at it lightly. “It’s-  _ I’m _ already yours.” She whispered into the ear once she released it. Selepha  _ shivered _ at Mei’s toying with her ears and shot her a look, eyes dark and hungry, and Mei’s mirror the heat within.

Her hands at Selephra’s waist tightened slightly and then began to roam more freely, stroking up and down her sides, one settling at the bare skin of her thigh, fingers glancing up under the fabric of her shift, while the other took a moment to toy with the loose strap. Selephra’s body arched into Mei’s touch, following the roaming hands as though drawn to them magnetically, and when they settled, she leaned closer with a heated whisper, “Get rid of it.”

“With pleasure.”

Selephra’s hands moved further downward, still tugging Mei's robe apart, until it caught on the swell of her breasts, as Mei’s moved back to her waist and fisted in the flimsy fabric of the chemise. Almost in perfect synch they rid each other of the offending garments. Selephra, with a flick of her wrists that flipped Mei's robe open, leaving her bare beneath her, and Mei with a single sharp tug that rent the shift in two. 

The shock of the cool morning air seemed glacial by comparison to the heat between them and Mei bit back a strangled noise somewhere between surprise at the chill and appreciation of the sight above her. She almost missing the look of stunned disbelief and amazement that Selephra directed at her, as she busied herself admiring and cataloguing every inch of the fey woman’s exposed form. She only caught the tail end of it when Selephra breathed “You’re beautiful,” as her hands cupped Mei's hips before leaning back in, pressing her lips to the pulse point in Mei's neck, then kissing her way down, eyes on Mei's the entire way as she worked her way towards Mei's chest.

At the compliment, a flush spread from Mei’s chest upwards, turning her sun-tanned skin a dusky rose, as a denial or deflection rose ready on her tongue only to be cut of with a mew of pleasure instead when Selephra leaned back in and the feeling of soft lips on her skin and kisses against her neck overwhelmed her instinct to be embarrassed by the attention. Mei tried valiantly to keep her eyes on Selephra’s but she was so unused to being on the  _ receiving _ end of such treatment and when the questing lips touched upon a particularly sensitive spot just over her heart, her eyes fluttered shut and her body jumped, a whining keen slipping from her lips. Selephra's eyes darted back up to Mei's face at the sound, filled with desire and pride at the knowledge that she pulled that sound from her, and she smiled against Mei’s skin at the sight of her, head thrown back and kiss-swollen lips open and gasping with the pleasure that she was giving her.

Back arching, Selephra's hips rose as she continued kissing her way down Mei's skin. She kissed down the valley of her sternum before moving over to her chest. Gently, she pressed her lips against the upper curve of one breast before working her way down slowly to the peak, hardened from both the chill of the air and the pleasure of Selephra’s touch. Once there, her tongue did more of the work, spiraling slowly around as she tasted Mei’s skin.

Unable to watch as Selephra continued her tortuously slow journey Mei compensated instead by allowing her hands free reign to roam across the exposed skin of Selephra’s back, up along her waist and sides, thumbs brushing teasingly against the underside of her breasts. She shivered again as Mei touched her, still leaning into each caress, her body seeking Mei's touch, to the point that she moaned against her skin as her calloused thumbs skimmed across her breasts teasingly. 

Mei’s eyes reopened she looked down into Selephra’s eyes with a positively smoldering heat. She drew in ragged breaths between gasps and wordless noises of appreciation as the fey woman tasted the skin of her breast, the slow, methodical way she did so both frustrating and arousing the senri. Taking Selephra’s moan as both permission and enthusiasm she once more trailed her fingers down and back up Selephra’s arched back, nails applying just a little pressure as she did so. She took the chance to appreciate the view of her lifted hips before her hands curled around and under to fully cup Selephra’s breasts. She squeezed slightly, fingers brushing past and over the peaks of each breast with deliberate pressure, teasing and firm by turns.

With her hands still at Mei’s hips, Selephra could feel how each time she licked at the pebbled tip of Mei’s breast her hips jerked and her body writhed. “More!” Mei managed to get out on a moan, her tone half begging and half encouraging. Selephra responded to the cry with her own quiet whine of frustration. She leaned forward and pressed down, taking her nipple between her teeth before swirling her tongue around the peak. Then she stopped, only to bring one hand up to Mei's other breast massaging it gently, before squeezing with her teeth and sucking the tip with her mouth. A slurry of jumbled Tien fell from Mei lips as her head dropped back, her back arching, pressing her breasts up into Selephra’s attentions, and her hands dropped from Selephra to fist into the sheets beneath them. She might’ve been crying out prayers or curses or both but at this point even she wasn’t entirely sure. 

She moved her remaining hand from Mei's hip to her ass, finding a firm curve of flesh and muscle toned by years aboard one ship it another. She squeezed down, enjoying the feel of Mei's body before pushing forward, pulling Mei's leg up and behind her back. Mei bit off a moan at the squeeze and wrapped her leg readily around Selephra’s hip, dislodging her tail from where it had been pinned beneath them and tangled in the robe. Sucking strongly on Mei's breast Selephra shifted a thigh forward to press against the cleft between Mei's legs and, unable to resist the urge, Mei ground against it shamelessly like, well, like a cat in heat. Her tail flicked between Selephra’s thighs though it was unlikely Mei was being intentional with it as she rolled her hips within the archfey’s grasp and watched her suck at her breast with near feral eyes. 

Selephra shivered when the fur of Mei's tail grazed across her inner thighs and she met Mei’s gaze with obvious need. "Careful, kitten. You're distracting me. Although..." She shifted slightly and ran her tongue around Mei's other nipple. "Someone feels wet." With her hand on Mei’s ass she pulled the senri’s hips back just far enough that she was unable to gain the pressure that she sought with her writhing and Mei whined wordlessly, squirming against the hold. At the sound, Selephra bit down on the underside of the breast, eyes jumping back up to Mei’s as she removed her mouth just long enough to say "Do I need to be gentle with you, Ao Mei?"

It took a few moments for the question to sink in to Mei’s lust-fogged consciousness. When it finally did she picked her head back up to look down at Selephra with intensity and passion and love before her hands released their death grip on the sheets and instead cupped Selephra’s cheeks once more, pulling her to her mouth for a kiss. The kiss was very unlike her earlier sweet ones as, this time, she wasted no time in deepening it so that it was all tongues and teeth, her hands tangling in the archfey’s curls and holding her there. When she finally pulled back it was with one last bruising nip of Selephra’s lip, and with yet another affectionate nose nuzzle she said simply, “I can take it.”

Selephra’s hand squeezed Mei's ass again, before bucking her hips to grind her thigh along Mei's slit. With a whimper of need, Mei rolled her hips once more, this time aided by Selephra’s grip on her ass guiding her, as she attempted to prolong the pleasure from the motion. 

"And if I want to be gentle?" Selephra asked, whispering, her breath tickling the skin of Mei’s breast. She reached back and ran her other hand, feather-light, across Mei's side, down to her thigh, before dipping down, following the heat of her skin to stroke just next to where Mei felt hottest. "Can you take that, kitten?" She asked, running her fingers delicately up and down, teasing at her skin beside the place she knew Mei wanted it most. At Selephra’s question her eyes zeroed in on the movement of the archfey’s hand, the light touches both calming her movement and lighting her nerves on fire.

Mei’s entire body stilled beneath Selephra, her pupils contracting with laser focus as the progress of her hand halted and Selephra’s fingers began to gently stroke her inner thigh. She responded with something long and emphatic in Tien, and Selephra laughed, kissing the skin above Mei’s heart and sending a shiver through her body. "I'm going to want you to teach me that language one day. You use it whenever things get interesting."

Mei grinned and managed to get out, “But if I teach you Tien how will I shower you with the compliments you won’t accept in common?” Between her moans and small noises of pleasure as Selephra returned her attention to her breasts, her fingers still stroking Mei’s thigh maddeningly and Mei realized she hadn’t actually answered the question in common. With a small whimper of need she corrected herself, “I said, if gentle means teasing then its very likely this might kill me. But I can’t wait to find out.” 

"Maybe you'll have to teach me to accept them." Selephra gave Mei a vulnerable look, filled with soft emotions and the lingering fear that this was too good to be true. Then she brought her lips to the base of Mei's breast, kissing the underside before working her way down across her ribs, then the taut muscles of her stomach. “I think I can manage that, beautiful.” Mei gasped, her chest rising and falling with her uneven breaths as she watched Selephra’s progress her eyes dilating once more till they were almost perfect circles of black, vanishing beneath Mei’s lashes whenever Selephra’s mouth found a particularly sensitive spot and dragged a cry from her mouth. 

The archfey took her time, admiring Mei's form, one hand tracing her sides as the other trailed across the inside of the thighs, her rear, touching literally everything except for Mei's slit. Breasts, sides, thighs, Selephra focused on making Mei tremble beneath her and was rewarded with mewls and gasps of pleasure. Then, gentle and slow, she finally,  _ finally _ , brought her mouth down, breath tickling at Mei’s clit. Her hands spread the senri’s legs, leaving her open, before bringing her mouth down to her sex... And gently biting at the side of her thigh. “How do I say kitten in Tien?" She asked, her voice filled with both amusement and desire.

The moan that emerged from Mei’s lips when Selephra bit at her thigh was tinged with the heat of frustration and the need Selephra spent so much time building. With a smaller mewl of need she managed to get out “K-Kitten is... xiǎo māo...!” 

"And what do I call these?" She asked, reaching up to cup Mei's breasts before tracing her fingers back down her chest.

“Rǔfáng...” Mei replied on a gasp automatically as her body arched into Selephra’s touch. Her rising hips allowed the fey woman easy access as they moved down to cup her ass.  

"And this?" Selephra purred, kissing the top of Mei's thigh as her hands squeezed down.

“Pìgu!” She supplied, her voice pitching with need till it was just shy of a sob, her hips jolting upwards even further at the squeeze, leaving herself open and vulnerable.

"And," Selephra began, with a pitying smile on her face as Mei opened her mouth in preparation for whatever Selephra was about to ask. "How about right here?" And slowly, frustratingly slowly, she brought her tongue up the length of Mei's sex. 

As Selephra finally granted her the attention her body was begging for and her tongue traveled up her slit what emerged from Mei’s mouth was nothing short of a yowl as her eyes fluttered shutter and her body jolted wantonly. She didn’t cum, but as Selephra’s tongue reached Mei’s clit the wriggling of her hips and the fisting of her hands in the sheets as her back arched made it apparent to the archfey that, with all the buildup, it was certainly a close thing.

"That's not an answer," She chided, humor in her voice before she gave Mei's clit the lightest flick with her tongue. "Do you need me to have mercy on you... Xiao mao?” Her voice lifted at the end of the endearment, unsure about the pronunciation as she used the unfamiliar words. Her eyes, however, filled with affection as she laid her head against Mei's thigh, looking up at her, her fingers tracing poems across her hips and the curve of her ass.

Mei whimpered needily at the tongue flick but Selephra’s pause gave her a chance to regain some level of composure. Not much composure, but enough that when she finally opened her eyes and replied, “It’s yīnhù and I don’t need mercy, I just need  _ you. _ ” She did so without stuttering, her voice roughened from crying out but strong and sure. Because she was also discovering herself to be a glutton for punishment only when it came to Selephra she couldn’t resist adding, “Also your accent is adorably bad... But it was a good first attempt.”

"It has been a very long time since I had to learn new things." She paused and kissed Mei again, right below her waist. "... But I'm glad that you like it. And if you need  _ me _ ..."

With a smile, she kissed Mei's skin one more time, before her hands lifted to raise Mei's hips, and her tongue began to taste the senri's arousal. Not quick, not hard, but long methodical strokes. Once again she took her time, tasting Mei, enjoying the twitches of her muscles and the sound of her cries.

Selephra’s pace may have been methodical but it quickly became apparent that it was more than enough to quickly be Mei’s undoing as she began to cry out louder and louder. She babbled, apparently unable to stop talking even when in such a state, compliments and profanities and affirmations spilling from her while she alternated seamlessly between Common, Tien and Sylvan, sometimes switching even midsentence. The vast majority was just small fragments of “Yes,” “More,” and “Oh gods, there.” But there were points where she repeated the Tien endearments she called Selephra by before as well as a few more in Sylvan.

"I need you, too," Selephra murmured, her voice soft, and just a little sad, right before pressing her lips to the bundle of nerves right at the top of her slit.

Like a coiling spring the tension built back up inside her, her body shaking and hips lifting against Selephra’s mouth. A part of her, the part that wasn’t near tears as her hands attempted to shred the sheets beneath her with the kneading motions they had assumed, noted the sadness in Selephra’s voice before she covered Mei’s clit with her mouth, but with the archfey’s single-minded attention being directed at her most intimate and sensitive spot she couldn’t even begin to ask. Instead she threw her head back against the pillows, still babbling in Tien, as Selephra pressed closer, tugging with her lips as her tongue pushed forward, bringing Mei's hips closer and closer with every word, as though afraid Mei might vanish if she held her too lightly. 

Eventually Mei’s back arched sharply, form stiffening as the spring released and she came hard, a wordless cry of pleasure leaving her mouth and stars erupting behind her eyes. Selephra held her in place, her mouth pressed to Mei’s sex, her grip on Mei's hips bruising as she attempted to drag out Mei's pleasure for as long as she possibly could. The entire time, Selephra worshipped at Mei's hips, silent hymns as she focused giving Mei every drop of pleasure she could and to Mei, time became immaterial and her world shrank till all she could sense, all she knew, was the way Selephra consumed her like a wild fire and set her mind ablaze with love and passion. 

By the time she finally slumped, limp and boneless, to the bed there were tear streaks down her cheeks and her chest rose and fell in ragged gasps. Selephra gave her one final pass with her tongue, leaving her clean and trembling as her entire body quivered with the heat of her orgasm and the aftershocks she had ridden to completion. Her eyes fluttered open and she languidly blinked back the haze of desire and fulfilment to gaze down her form at Selephra. 

The sight of her between her thighs was so unbearably arousing that Mei almost forgot that she had just experienced an earth-shattering orgasm that quite literally brought her to tears and she trembled slightly. “Wǒ shì nǐ de, ài ren.” She purred as her breathing calmed, her voice husky.

When she heard Mei’s words, Selephra pulled back. Not far. Just enough that she could wipe Mei's arousal from her lips and stare up at Mei with longing, need, and a deep, lingering loneliness. "I mean it, Mei. I ... I don't ... I don't have many people in my life. And I know it is hardly fair to put that on you. After everything you've done for me. But I can't ..."

Her voice caught, and she stopped, looking up at Mei with a pleading expression. Then, slowly, she moved up Mei's body, until the archfey laid herself atop her, elbows coming to rest on the bed beside Mei's head. As her entire weight settled against the senri Mei couldn’t help the shock she felt at her weight. She was light. Far lighter than her normal glamour would suggest, and even a little lighter than her true appearance and the gauntness of her cheeks seemed to imply. Her chest pressed against Mei's, even as her legs twined with the other woman's, trying to make as many points of contact as possible. 

As she looked down at Mei her eyes filled with that heartfelt pleading expression, her head lowered until her lips were barely an inch from Mei's.

" _ Please... _ " Selephra whispered, her voice catching slightly and cracking with the fear and the pain. In that moment, she looked as fragile as she did the day in the tower, and Mei knew instantly that the wrong word might, quite literally, break her.

"I  _ need _ you, Ao Mei."

Mei’s heart ached at Selephra’s words, both with the sympathy of loneliness and self imposed isolation and with the painful hope that maybe she wouldn’t need to wait so long for her feelings to be requited after all. She helped establish contact between them as she placed one hand at the small of Selephra’s back, making an absent mental note to cook some of Fan Rong’s best dishes for her as soon as she can bring herself to leave the bed, and the other she used to cup Selephra’s jaw, rubbing the archfey’s lower lip with her thumb gently as she blinks away the searing heat of lust for a moment and gazed seriously into her eyes. “Don’t stop me, ok? I don’t know if I can finish this if you do and it’s very important that you hear all of it.” 

Selephra trembled at the weight of Mei’s hand on her back and as her thumb grazed her lip her eyes fell shut, the contact almost more than she could hope to bear. Still shaking like a leaf in the wind she nodded once, quick and small and Mei placed a quick peck on the tip of her nose in response before taking a deep breath.

“I was a stray cat. I was never interested in the domesticated life and the thought of staying in one place used to give me hives. I wanted freedom and independence. But then I stumbled into your home, with companions I had had foisted upon me by my patron, and you gave me tea and shared your story and I felt... drawn... to you. I wanted to help you but I also wanted more than that. I wanted to  _ punish _ the man who had caused you the pain that I could see simmering in your eyes, and I wanted to spare you that pain even at the cost of causality.” She paused, swallowing the fresh surge of anger and forced herself to relax. “His crimes were so... Insignificant... Understandable, even. Except in that he committed them against  _ you _ .”

“And then you chose to move on and I was proud and hopeful, but you weren’t unaffected by the pain. I stayed by your side as you cried, offering you comfort I didn’t know I was  _ capable _ of providing. When I experienced the trauma of Baba Yaga’s hut I was terrified of being alone, but I didn’t know how to ask the open and friendly strangers I traveled with for help after Runa’s betrayal had hurt so much. Telling them would be akin to giving them a knife with which to stab me later. Instead I sought the company of strangers in the seediest bar I could find and I ended up drunk and naked in the arms of an ashborn that I was attracted to because she reminded me of  _ you _ .” Mei’s eyes fell closed as she caught a flicker of hurt flaring in Selephra’s eyes, and she couldn’t bear the knowledge that she put it there. Lashes glittering with unshed tears Mei continued to pour her heart out, praying to every god above that it wouldn’t be shattered.

“When I was in the past I slept with the sachet of silvervine under my pillow because it helped drive the nightmares away. And by then I knew why I was so drawn to you, why things that reminded me of you had such a profound impact on me. Why I found myself not minding staying in the feywild forever even though I could leave at almost any time via my ship. Selephra, here is your second lesson in Tien.”

She opened her eyes and with her hand at Selephra’s jaw tilted her head so that she could lean up and whisper in her ear. “‘Wǒ shì nǐ de’ means ‘I am yours’ and ‘Wǒ ài nǐ’ means ‘I love you.’” She pulled back and, not meeting Selephra’s gaze, she said, “I think I have since the moment I saw you. When I realized that, I would have waited for this,” She gestured between them, “For the rest of my life and been happy with whatever you were willing to allow me to be for you.”

The hurt in Selephra’s eyes that had appeared when Mei mentioned her tryst with Nainie faded, slowly, at the mention of the silvervine. At the mention of Mei’s desire to stay. Then Mei translated the Tien for her and the hurt vanished entirely. A long silence hung between them and Mei braced herself for the hurt she was sure would come. When Selephra finally broke the silence it was with a short stretch of sylvan. Nothing sensible - a phrase with meaning, but no context, and the feeling of magic about it.

Then, Selephra took Mei's chin in her hand and turned Mei to look at her. She was crying, large wet tears sliding down her cheeks. She swallowed heavily, and when she finally spoke, it wasn't Sylvan Mei heard. In very slow and awkward Tien, she said, " _ I'm broken, Mei. I'm broken, and it's not fair for me to ask you to fix me. It's not right. Even if it is what I want, more than anything. _ "

" _ But, i-if you want me, _ ” She hiccupped slightly, “ _ Even knowing what I am, if you can... If you can wait for me to... To put myself back together, then... _ " she stopped as her throat closed tightly, tears falling onto Mei's cheeks. She slides forward, falling until her arms are clutching Mei's shoulders, her mouth right next to Mei's ears. " _ Qǐng bǎ nǐ nòng chéng nǐ de. Qǐng. _ "

At the sight of Selephra’s tears Mei’s first instinct was to panic, to kiss them away and comfort until they are dried and forgotten but at the sound of her native language from the lips of the fey woman she froze instead. Not with embarrassment, because she recognized the spell for what it was and knew the pet names and terribly embarrassing things she had said to Selephra are still her secrets to reveal, but instead with stunned pleasure and appreciation of the gesture for what it was.

She listened closely, intense golden eyes locked on Selephra’s until she fell forward and, her breath tickling at Mei’s sensitive ears in a  _ highly _ distracting manner, whispered her request, bringing more tears to Mei’s eyes but this time tears of relief and not worry.

“ _ You don’t need me to fix you but I’ll be right there with you for support when you need it. _ ” She replied firmly in her native tongue, “ _ And I told you that I was willing to be just a friend to you for the rest of my life if that was all you wanted. Of course I can wait for you. _ ” She held Selephra’s frame to her with careful strength and continued in common, “I  _ want _ to wait for you and I’ve never wanted to wait for  _ anyone _ .”

"Thank you," Selephra whispered, soft and earnest, burying her nose against Mei's ear, causing her to shiver beneath her. "Thank you. I didn't think... There are some things I can't do, Mei." She pushed herself up, moving until she was straddling Mei's hips, looking down at the senri as her crimson hair cascaded down across her shoulders. Her eyes glanced down, before she took Mei's hand in hers and brought it up to her lips. She kissed Mei's palm before bringing it down to her chest and laying Mei's there over her heart.

"Something broke here. Something I don't know how to put back together. But I meant what I said, Mei. I want to try. And I ... I spent so long being  _ his _ . Even after, his memory..." She shook her head, then looked down at Mei, her expression beseeching. “Please, Mei. I don't want to be his anymore. I want to ... Please, Mei.  _ Qǐng bǎ nǐ nòng chéng nǐ de. _ "

A slow smile spread across Mei’s face and with an impatient hand she wiped the tears from her face before placing it at Selephra’s hip. The hand over Selephra’s heart took a more scenic route, trailing between her breasts, lingering near her belly button and curving around to the small of her back. With her hands supporting her lover she rolled them, the motion fluid and fast so that one moment Selephra was straddling and looking down on Mei and the next their positions were completely reversed.  
“I’ll just have to _make_ you forget him then. Every _touch_.” She trailed her hands up to cup Selephra’s breasts, “Every _kiss_.” She slotted her lips up over Selephra’s, pulling the bottom lip into her mouth and nipping it gently. Selephra shivered at Mei's touch, arching her back to press more firmly into Mei's hands on her breasts, her fingers twining with black locks as Mei kissed her. Her tongue quickly soothed the abused lip before she pulled away, Selephra following on instinct, trying to continue the kiss only for Mei to hold her fast and firm as she shifted her weight upwards so her mouth brushed against Selephra’s ear, “Every sweet word, _ài ren,_ so that the only one left in your heart is _Mei_.” She drew back to look down at Selephra, love filling her eyes as she trailed her hands over Selephra’s body, firm touches meant to reassure and comfort as much as to arouse. Selephra trembled with the force of her emotions as Mei’s touch soothed her and she continued to speak, Selephra’s eyes lighting up as she did so.  
“In my homeland, there is a belief, that people who are destined to be together are attached at the ankles by an invisible red thread of fate. The line can stretch and tangle, but never break. I was sure that I was one of those unlucky people who were born without a thread. But surely we are attached by that thread, because when I saw you…” Mei hesitated, sure of what she was about to say but unsure if she should say it then. She swallowed her worries and continued, “All the planes, all the realms, were suddenly insignificant compared to the place by your side. You _aren’t_ his. You never _were_. There was just a knot in our thread that we had to untangle. Together.”  
She dipped down and placed a kiss over Selephra’s heart and, with her lips still grazing the skin there, she spoke, “Nǐ shì wǒ de. Wǒ shì nǐ de. Wǒmen shǔyú bǐcǐ. (你是我的。我是你的。我们属于彼此。)”

Slowly, a small vine began to extend from the side of her pinky, wrapping once around her finger before crawling its way towards Mei's hand. It encircled Mei's wrist, the senri watching in wonder, until a thin, tiny vine ran between their hands.

"I'm scared Xiao Mao. I want that, so much, and the idea if it has me shaking. So please, please.  _ Show me. _ "

“Nǐ de yuànwàng shì wǒ de mìnglìng, wǒ de ài. (你的愿望是我的命令, 我的爱)” Mei punctuated the statement with another kiss to the skin over her heart before, with the hand encircled by the vine, she reached down to take Selephra’s hand and twined their fingers together, allowing her thumb to stroke at the back of her lover’s.

Her other hand gently began to knead at Selephra’s breast while her mouth kissed and lapped at the skin of her other breast, trailing kisses and the occasional love mark in her wake as she worked her way to the tip. Still straddling the archfey’s hips she let her tail drop behind her so that the fur could tickle at the inside of Selephra’s thighs whenever she shifted and moved.

“How do you want me to show you? Do you want me to tease you?” She slowly trailed her tail up, only allowing the very tips of her fur to graze against Selephra’s slit. “Do you want me to romance you, to be gentle and sweet?” She laved her tongue with firm pressure up over the curve of Selephra’s breast, the sand paper texture of it rough against her nipple, only for her to trail soft kisses back down to the tip. “Or do you want to be impatient and for me to be fast and a little rough?” She tweaked at the nipple of the breast she was kneading as she bit down on the other, careful not to break skin with her canines. “You make me want to do unspeakable things to you and I’m afraid if I have my way we’re never going to leave this bed, so I’ll let you choose.”

Selephra writhed beneath Mei, quiet whines and gasps torn from her throat with every touch. She whimpered, tortured at the touch of Mei's tail, her eyes falling shut and her body jolting in surprise as Mei used her tongue.

"Don't tease me, please." She begged, hand squeezing down on Mei's. "I couldn't handle that right now. But the other two ... I want whatever you can give me." 

“Ránhòu wǒ huì hěn wēnróu. (然后我会很温柔)” Mei purred against Selephra’s breast. She lifted up off the archfey and leaned up to kiss her. This time they were long, languid kisses interspersed with her pulling back and whispering “I love you” every so often, switching between their native tongues each time. Meanwhile she readjusted their position so that she kneeling between Selephra’s legs. She trailed her free hand down from Selephra’s breast, catching it momentarily at her too thin waist before flattening it over her stomach and moving downwards towards the archfey’s sex. The pressure of the movements stayed firm enough to be reassuring and comforting, filled with Mei’s intent and dedication to the woman she loved.

She brushed over Selephra’s clit, and the archfey’s hips pressed upwards into her hand, she moved onwards but left enough of a touch left in her wake to show that she would be returning to it shortly before her palm cupped Selephra’s sex fully. As her mouth moved away from Selephra’s she kissed her way down her jaw and neck, rough tongue dipping down to lick the skin that she leaves littered with dark green love marks. Each little bite, each kiss, made Selephra shiver beneath Mei, her free hand tangling itself in black hair and cradling Mei against her skin.

When Mei reached her neck, Selephra let out a cry, a tortured sound begging for more, before the next kisses tore Mei's name from her lips. At the sound of her name Mei smiled against Selephra’s skin and bit down on her clavicle lightly as her middle finger curled up and inwards. She probed gently at Selephra’s entrance while her lips trailed back down to her breasts. She cast her gaze back up to the archfey’s face, golden eyes asking for permission and when she entered Selephra, her thumb pressed down against her clit, rubbing a small circle against the sensitive nub.

Selephra hummed at the clavicle bite, only for her eyes to shoot open and her body to go stiff as Mei’s finger entered her. Her eyes met Mei's, and there was fear there, but desire as well, and the longer she looked at Mei, who had paused, waiting for her and ready to pull away if it was too much, the more the fear faded away. Her hand gripped the senri's, hard, and though there was was still trepidation in her eyes, she nodded, her hand tightening in Mei’s hair as she pulled her into a deep, lasting kiss.

Mei returned the tight squeeze of her hand as she began moving her finger, deepening the kiss further, pouring her love and respect into Selephra through her lips as though providing her the water and sunlight she gave to the plant aboard her ship. 

She started slow, the intrusions brief and intermittent with circling fingers and soft strokes at her clit. Slowly she worked her way up to deep curling motions and then a second finger.  Selephra tensed slightly at the addition though Mei had no trouble adding it with how obviously Selephra was enjoying her attention and when Mei pulled away from their kiss, the question ready on her lips Selephra nodded emphatically and captured her mouth again before she could form the words. 

She continued ever questing for the internal spot that she herself was familiar enough with to know it would go a long way in undoing the tension of her lover, though Selephra relaxed further into the moment with each kiss and gentle stroke, basking in Mei’s presence and the love she gave so readily. Mei maintained her tight grip on Selephra’s hand as she continued to make love to her with gentle, dexterous fingers, never allowing herself to break the connection the fragile vine had made between them.

Finally Mei found the spot she was searching for and Selephra’s hand tightened in her hair, hard, yanking just a little too hard on accident as her mouth dropped open, breaking their kiss. A moan tumbled from from her lips, followed by another, and another, broken by muffled cries of Mei's name and calls for her to just keep going. Her scalp smarting a bit but altogether more than happy to oblige, Mei deepened the thrusts of her fingers, each retreat punctuated with a curling drag of her fingertips across the spot she identified. She moves her mouth away from Selephra’s lips, trailing them instead along her jaw to an ear.

Pulling Selephra’s lobe between her lips she sucked on it gently and then blows out a breath, cooling the heated flesh. “It’s a good thing I don’t mind having my hair pulled or I might’ve had to punish you.” She whispers sinfully, her lips still tickling at the skin. Her thumb’s ministrations against Selephra’s clit speed up, pressure hardening as they did so. “Nǐ hěn xìng gǎn. Wǒ xǐ huan nǐ de shēng yīn. Wèi wǒ jiān jiào? (你很性感. 我喜欢你的声音. 为我尖叫?)”

Selephra was wound tight as a spring by this point, her toes curling, her legs tensing with every drag of Mei's fingertips. "I think I might--" As Mei sped up, Selephra let out a long, low keen, her leg muscles trembling as her body tried to deal with the mounting tension.

"Y-you're going to have to earn that, Kitten," She managed valiantly, as her shaky hands clung to Mei, turning to press a similarly shaky kiss to her lips. "B-but if anyone can make me," She whimpered, trying to tuck her legs behind Mei's, as she buried her face in the other woman's shoulder. "It would be you."

Mei chuckles, the sound low and full of lust. She nibbled at the tip of Selephra’s ear as she tucked her face into Mei’s shoulder. “Oh? And here I thought I’d been doing fairly well considering I’ve only had the use of one hand.” Squeezing down tightly on their clasped hands she drew them to her mouth and placed a kiss on the inside of Selephra’s wrist.

"S-sorry, I don't want to l-let you go."

“Don’t you dare let go.” Mei murmured, kissing the skin of her wrist once more. She could feel the climbing tension in the way Selephra quivered beneath her and the way her muscles began to clench and tighten around her fingers. The plunging of her fingers accelerated again, and her tail wrapped around one of their entwined legs, the tip of it flicking up and down the inside of Selephra’s thigh. “Wǒ nàme ài nǐ. Lái zhǎo wǒ, qīn ài de. (我那么爱你。 来找我, 亲爱的。)”

The stimulation from Mei’s tail only made Selephra’s trembling worse. She writhed beneath Mei until her voice reached a fever pitch, her whole body one solid line of tension. She clung to Mei like a drowning sailor clawing at driftwood, anchored only by Mei's hand in hers and her voice whispering in her ear. She called Mei's name, again and again, rising and rising, until finally she stopped. Her voice vanishing in a silent gasp before she buried her face in Mei's shoulder... And screamed. 

Her every muscle began to tremble, her legs shivering and shaking beneath Mei as the senri brought Selephra to a place she hadn’t known in almost longer than she can remember. 

Mei held tight, more than content to be Selephra’s buoy as the tension broke and she was pulled under the waves of pleasure. Her hand slowed but didn’t withdraw as she pulled the pleasure from her lover just as Selephra had done earlier for her, drawing it out and making her bliss last. All the while she whispered painfully sweet words to her and peppered her exposed skin with slow, gentle kisses.

Selephra's nerves sang with fire, waves of pleasure washing over her as she clung to Mei. Eventually, the first wave led straight into a second, ending with Selephra pressing desperate kisses against Mei's cheek. Her cries continuing, rending the air between them as she begged for more and Mei, enthusiastically, obliged her. Finally, when she could take no more, she flinched away, one hand coming down to grip Mei's, pulling her away from her slit even as she leaned into her, still shaking with pleasure.

A loud purr rumbled to life in Mei’s chest and a smug, cat who got the cream, smile spread across her lips. She nuzzled the crown of red hair and pressed soft kisses to it, still murmuring words of love and comfort as Selephra recovered. Their entwined hands still clasped together and their legs tangled.

“Shall I continue showing you how perfect we are together?” Mei purred eventually when Selephra’s shaking calmed, lifting her hand to taste her off her fingers, her arousal having spiked enough at the sound of Selephra’s cries that it was easy to ignore that they’d been in bed for well over half a day and her stomach was beginning to protest her neglect.

Moving slow, Selephra lifted her head to look up at Mei. There was something like awe in her eyes, and no small bit of adoration. She caught Mei's hand before she could lick her last finger and, eyes locked on Mei’s the entire time, brought the finger down to her own mouth. Watching Mei's reactions, she cleaned her own arousal from Mei's hand, before leaning close and kissing at the pulse point in her neck.

"I have a lot of catching up to do."

A shiver coursed through Mei’s body, her pupils quivering and then dilating as she pounced. They rolled once before settling, Mei sitting smugly in Selephra’s lap, her hands clasping hers. She lifted their joined hands, pinning them above Selephra’s head and dipping low for a kiss. Her lips were playful as she teased and tugged at her lover’s, encouraging them to play and chase.

“Careful měi nǚ,” She murmured against Selephra’s lips, “If you provoke me like that I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” She laughed, sultry and low, “Haven’t you heard? I’m an absolute  _ animal _ .”

Selephra ducked her head and bit gently at the skin between Mei's neck and shoulder, tongue playing along the mark she left. "Maybe I like the animal." She cooed.

Shivering, Mei lifted her chin, exposing her throat to Selephra’s attentions in a gesture that meant more as a cat than it did as a human. “That’s good.” She hummed, “Because I’m sure you know what they say about feeding stray cats.” She nipped at Selephra’s ear again and nuzzled her cheek against her temple. “You’ll never be rid of me now.” 

“Now I’m going to need you to leave that hand there,” She said finally, releasing their unbound hands and blowing cool ear against the spot she nipped on Selephra’s ear. “No touching. It’s still my turn.” She rotated their bound hands so that their fingers were still hooked together but the palm of Selephra’s hand was against the back of her own. She skimmed her hands down Selephra’s form and then back up it to cup at her breasts, her thumbs stroking across her nipples.

And then her stomach growled.

The growling combined with Mei's position was particularly amusing, and Selephra couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. Mei, torn between feeling dismayed at her body’s betrayal and pleasure at the sound of Selephra’s laughter could only pout as Selephra freed herself from beneath her. 

"If you're looking for a snack, you won't find it there," Selephra said on a laugh and pushed herself upright. 

Mei flushed but demurred, “I’m not sure... I think I could find something plenty sweet to eat right here.” The look she gave Selephra combined with her toothy grin was downright sinful. 

She just shook her head and pressed a kiss to Mei's cheek, before rising off the bed. "Why don't we find you something to eat?" Then she walks to the door, giving Mei a very good view as she leaves. She watched as Selephra walked away, a slightly stunned and very pleased look on her face in an expression that could only be called smitten. Running a hand over her face she cursed lowly in Tien and glared at her stomach before pushing herself up and slipping off the bed only for Selephra to call back to her, "Oh, don't get up. It’ll just take a second."

Mei flopped back down on the bed at Selephra’s words and watched the vine between them grow with interest her pupils contracted as she follows its progress along the floor. She rolled onto her stomach, hips wiggling and tail twitching as her instincts fought logic. After a few moments Selephra’s feet reappeared in her field of vision and she let her eyes slide up her form, unabashedly admiring. She carried an ornate silver goblet in her hands and though she didn’t say anything regarding Mei’s appreciative gaze, the coloring of her cheeks told Mei it didn’t go unnoticed. 

Selephra set the goblet down onto a long table that grew up next to the bed to meet it. Waving a hand over it, she incanted something in Sylvan, the goblet glowing slightly as she spoke. When she finished the spell the glow increased to a near blinding shine and vanished. Once Mei was able to blink the spots out of her vision she realized that in the goblet’s place was a Heroes’ Feast. Her stomach gave an anticipatory growl as Selephra climbed back into the bed behind her, her arms rising to wrap around the senri. “We can talk about you eating  _ me _ once your stomach quiets.” 

Mei leaned back into Selephra’s embrace, head turning to nuzzle their noses. “Xièxiè, qīn ài de.” She gazed at the magically summoned food consideringly before, with an offhand comment of, “I’ll just have to postpone my plans of kitchen sex then.” She began to pile her plate high with the feast’s offerings. Selephra blushed, burying her face in Mei’s shoulder with a murmured, “I think that can be arranged.”

“You’re very pretty when you blush.” Mei remarked absentmindedly as she ate. “I mean you’re always pretty but exceptionally so then.”

Selephra blushed again and then shifted, enough to press her chest against Mei’s back before reaching past her for a piece of the bacon. “Thank you, Mei. For… For everything.” The senri smiled a crooked grin at the gratitude, a blush of her own rising as she felt Selephra’s breasts against her back. “You really don’t need to thank me… It makes me happy to see you happy.” She watched from the corner of her eye as Selephra nibbled as small pieces of food, not nearly enough to be considered a meal, noting it as something to ask about later before deciding on a topic less likely to upset either of them. 

“I guess up till now I’ve only told you much about my time from the feywild and the synopsis of my former pact… Would you like to know about my childhood? We have some time… I’m  _ insatiable. _ ” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Selephra over her shoulder. 

“In more ways than one.” Selephra muttered under her breath, knowing full well Mei could hear every word and the senri snickered in response, leaning back into the embrace and nibbling on a pastry as Selephra nuzzled her neck briefly. “I would like that. Did you grow up in TianXia?”

“I did. At least in part. When my mother passed from the sickness that was rampaging the city of Kai Shan I-” She was cut off as Selephra pulled her closer. “I am sorry about your mother.” Mei acknowledged the sympathy with a small, sad smile, tinged with the bittersweetness of old memories before continuing. “I had to spend a lot of time as a cat since that form had already reached adulthood and luckily wasn’t susceptible to the sickness. I could hunt and I could survive.”

She cocked her head to the side, slightly, the pain of the loss and the danger lessened significantly by time. “Honestly it was sheer dumb luck but when the pirates who made port in the city heard that the plague was spread by rats they grabbed as many alley cats as they could, including me, boarded their ships and fled to sea. I spent a week or so aboard the ship as a mouser and eventually I realized that if I didn’t return to my human form I would forget who I was and life my life as a cat. But girls weren’t tolerated on pirate ships so when I emerged, scrappy and covered in dirt, I lied, I told them I was a boy and that I would continue to work catching rats if they would also put me to work as a proper member of the crew.”

"Why couldn't girls be aboard pirate ships?"

At Selephra’s question Mei snorted suddenly. Laughing with a shake of her head she replied, "Pirates are a  _ very _ superstitious lot. Girls were seen to be bad luck, probably because one to many a crew member couldn't keep their hands to themselves and had to be punished when there was one present. That or I am just an excellent exception to a very old rule because I was both notoriously lucky and also a girl."

"Maybe the nine lives cancels everything out."

Mei shrugged with another laugh. "I guess that's possible. I certainly shocked a number of my crewmates to within an inch of theirs when I finally revealed my true gender twelve years later."

"And you were a lone girl among men all that time?"

“Aboard the ship, yes. A boy about five years my senior spoke up when I first appeared, promising to look out for me and keep me working hard and well. His name is Jin Hai and he is one of the best friends I have ever known. He’s currently heading the fleet in my place as I can’t do much as a pirate queen when I can’t  _ actually _ sail on the mortal seas. I only made any female friends when I turned 13 and my crewmates decided it was high time to turn their scrappy runt of a deckhand into a man.” She cackled slightly, still giddy at the absurdity of the whole farce.

"That must have been a surprise for them," Selephra said slowly, a slight sour note to her voice.

“Oh ài ren,” She turned her head, placing a kiss against Selephra’s faint scowl, “There’s no need to pout, though it is unbearably cute of you." Smiling against her lips, she pulled away. "No, they pooled their money, the well meaning fools,” She shook her head fondly, “And bought me a night with one of the most well respected courtesans in Kai Shan. The woman who I would come to know as a sister in all but blood, Fan Rong. She thought the whole thing was highly amusing and after spending a night getting my entire life story from me she pledged to help me continue it.”

"So, she helped you keep pretending?"

Mei nodded, “Yes, I was coming up on puberty and was rather… erm…  _ Unprepared _ shall we say? My mother didn’t get much chance to explain the changes I would undergo and Fan Rong could tell. She taught me how to bind my breasts and hide the evidence of my cycles. She also taught me to pitch my voice,” As she spoke she dropped her voice an octave to the tenor she had assumed until she was 18 with another waggle of her eyebrows. 

“There’s also a style of makeup that can make masculine features more feminine and feminine features more masculine. But… She also just taught me that I could  _ be _ a woman. I learned from her how to appreciate beautiful robes and jewelry, how to walk and dance like a proper lady, and more about being a woman in general. I owe her so much.”

"It sounds like I do too." Selephra paused, and Mei could feel her form begin to tense. "Did she ... Did she end up making a 'woman' out of you, then?"

Mei burst out laughing, "Oh  _ gods no _ ! Our relationship has never been anything more than platonic! She saw a frightened thirteen year old girl in too deep in a life or death masquerade and she decided to help. If she ever saw me in that light she certainly didn't make any advances."

"Good," She said, then thinking better of it, corrected herself. "I mean... That's good of her."

Mei cocked an eyebrow at her lover with a knowing smirk and kissed her again. “Indeed it was  _ very _ good of her, ài ren. I don’t call her sister lightly. Hmm…” She tapped her lips with a strip of bacon before biting into it. “I’ve lost track of where I was.”

"Her teaching you how to be a grown woman. That it was alright to be a woman." Selephra supplied her expression somewhat meek at being seen through so easily.

“Ah yes! Well prior to that I had know that I was different than boys, at least in appearance. I understood that being a girl was bad enough that I should keep it hidden. But it wasn’t till Fan Rong that I understood the whys thereof. I would have remained hidden for my entire life if she hadn’t taught me the root of that belief, which was that women were weak and unfit for battle, and shown me just how wrong it was. I decided to eventually reveal myself. I saved my money, enough to buy a ship of my own, and then told the crew that I was both a woman and that I was captaining a new ship and that any who would like to, could join me. I…  _ Did _ have to show them proof. Both that I was a woman and that I was capable of leading them.”

"I am assuming your 'proof' of leadership was a violent one."

"I didn't  _ kill _ the old captain.” Mei protested playfully, “I only  _ almost _ killed him. He was a crotchety old bastard though, with a reputation for being heavy handed in the brothel where Fan Rong worked. I suspect he ended up dead not long after anyways. Fan Rong is, quite literally, a fox."

"Well, I for one am glad you didn't remain hidden. I wouldn't ... I might not have met you if you had." There was a long pause, before making up her mind and allowing her hands to slowly start to roam over Mei's sides before coming up to cup her breasts. "A-and hiding these... It would have been a true shame," She said, her voice obviously trying for a sultry note and showing a bit more of her own embarrassment instead. Her face turned an intriguing shade of pink as Mei watched before, with steam practically rolling from her ears she ducked her head. "... Sorry. I'm... I am very out of practice with this sort of thing."

Mei hummed, a considering note in her tone, as she leaned back against Selephra, resting her head at the crook of her neck and shoulder, a small smile on her face as she arched her chest up into the fey woman’s hands. “I don’t know about not meeting you… Yǒu yuán qiān lǐ lái xiānghuì.” She turned her head to kiss at Selephra’s pulse point. Selephra’s eyes fell closed at the kiss, and she relaxed against Mei, letting the smaller woman hold her up. “Don’t apologize. I think it’s endearing. And I agree with you, it would have been a shame.” 

Knowing Selephra probably needed a distraction from her embarrassment she asked, "Can I ask about your childhood?"

"Nothing so dramatic. I was born a princess of the Green court of the Fey. My father is Lord Oran, and my mother..." She paused for a moment, then sighed. "She died. When I was very young. Before the dragons even arrived on Tyrnic shores."

Mei’s posture was firm and strong, holding them both upright in that moment as Selephra’s sigh tickled at her skin. She took ahold of Selephra’s hand, threading their fingers together. “I’m sorry…” And her expression showed it, the empathy that only someone who had known a similar loss could feel. “I would have liked to thank her. For bringing you into this world.”

"So would I." She sighed, her temple resting against Mei's. "But I had my father. Which is more than some can say. He doted on me. His first daughter." She paused for a moment before cautiously pointing out, "You never mentioned your father."

Mei shrugged within Selephra’s grasp, her expression placid. “That’s because I’ve never met the man... If my mother ever told me what happened to him then I can’t remember it. I can only guess that his surname was Zhu because of my given surname. But it’s also possible that my mother never took on his name and just passed hers on to me.”

She smiled after a moment of silence hung between them and shook off the apathy that had overcome her at the mention of her father, “I confess it’s a little hard to imagine Lord Oran doting on someone but I hope I get to see that in real life someday. You said you were his first daughter... Do you have many siblings then?”

"A few sisters. An older brother, Hyrsam. Cerunnos, I suppose, although I was... Gone... By the time father took him in."

"It's not too late, you know." She stroked the back of Selephra's hand, her fingers drawing the Tien characters of 'I love you' idly. "To mend old bridges and build new ones. Cerunnos, at least, seemed concerned and surprisingly supportive regarding my pursuit of you." She laughed lightly. "If nothing else you can bond over my flaws." She eyed the food again, trying to build up the courage to ask.

Swallowing hard she began, her voice hesitant. "If... If I made you food, would you eat it? If it's still too hard... I understand... You don't have to." Her voice trailed off and she hid her face in the crook of Selephra's neck but the blush was visible on her shoulders.

Selephra paused, then pulled back after a moment, shifting away from her position, pressed against Mei. "Was it ... did you not like it? I don't know much about Tianxian food, so I couldn't make it ... I can try again, if it would be better."

Mei’s expression was simultaneously both horrified and apologetic. “Gods no! That’s-Oh I’m an idiot.” Her face was dislodged when Selephra pulled back so she lifted her hands quickly to cover her blush. “No no, I loved the breakfast, I just meant in general, but I...  _ You _ didn’t eat very much... Sharing meals is...  _ Important _ ... in Yangzhai...” This was probably one of the only times Selephra had seen Mei so unsure of herself. “I  _ like _ to cook. I know it’s not a very Pirate-like hobby... But I always thought that if I ever found someone I loved, like how I love you... I would be able to do that for them... But gods, I don’t want to push you or rush you! I just...” She shrugged helplessly her face still hidden.

"Sorry. I thought you meant..." Selephra looked about as uncomfortable as Mei, but she could tell that this was important to the Senri. "I don't... Eat much. I'm not usually hungry. But if you ... If you made something," She paused, then looked over at Mei. "I would."

With a hopeful expression Mei slowly lifted her head from her hands, her eyes searching Selephra’s. “Really?” Her voice was small but a happy smile spread slowly across her cheeks before she twisted her hips and slid her arms up Selephra’s shoulders till they were chest to chest, her hands threading through Selephra’s curls and her lips teasingly grazing at the fey woman’s.   
“I did love the breakfast you made for me. If you continue to spoil me like this you’re going to make me into a fat, lazy house cat.” Her lids drooped as she looked up into Selephra’s eyes. “Unless you wanted to know more about my terribly dramatic history, like the time I had a Kenku bard convinced I was going to eat him... I believe you promised me dessert...”

Selephra blushed, then leaned her head onto Mei's shoulder. "I did, didn't I?" Slowly, she pulled herself up from the bed, her hand playing through Mei's hair and pulling a purr from her as she did so. "Give me a minute or two. I should be done by then." She then headed out of the bedroom and into the main room of the house. 

When Selephra’s hand left her hair Mei’s lip immediately drooped into a pout, the look of faux betrayal on her face one that only a cat could duplicate. As Selephra left the room she slumped to the bed, her posture languid as she watched the door, her head pillowed on her forearms. 

True to her word, a couple minutes later, Selephra called to her from the other room. "Alright. I'm ready." With a curious tilt of her head Mei pushed up off the bed. Stretching luxuriously, she padded over to the door and, with an anticipatory smile, moved silently in the direction Selephra went.

When she reached the main room where they had had tea the night before, Mei found Selephra standing in the kitchen, facing the counter, completely naked except for an apron tied behind her back. Selephra, her cheeks very pink, glanced back over her shoulder at Mei. "You said you wanted to... Would this suffice for dessert?"

For a moment Mei was dumbstruck, her face flushing crimson and her body slumping against the doorframe. “I believe now would be a good chance for a cat call but…” She stood, prowling forward, her hands reaching automatically for Selephra’s hips to pull her back towards herself. “I believe you’ve rendered me witless.”   
She nuzzled Selephra’s hair out of her way and began trailing open mouthed kisses up her neck. “I believe I said some sort of warning about provoking me but honestly I couldn’t have asked for a more delectable dessert if I tried.” Her hands at Selephra’s hips slid forward, skimming down the front of her thighs beneath the apron and back up the insides, teasingly flitting up at the last moment to rest on Selephra’s stomach, holding her possessively to her chest.

Selephra hummed as Mei held her, small happy noises coming from her throat. Something was different about the taste of her as Mei kissed her neck, and when she eventually breathed in her scent, the difference became very clear. Selephra had rubbed honeysuckle into the skin of her neck.

Mei's pupils quivered as the scent hit her nose and filled her mouth, dilating fully as she snuffled at Selephra's neck and an echoing purr rumbled to life, powerful enough that Selephra could feel it in Mei's lips on her skin. "Ooh," She grinned, "That's a dangerous scent you're wearing ài ren." She bit at the pulse point of Selephra's neck, not hard enough to break skin, but certainly not as gentle as she had been with her fangs before. She quickly followed over the bite with her tongue, the roughness of it emphasized by the pressure she put into the lick.   
One hand pulled away from Selephra's stomach and, after skimming up her side, slipped back beneath her apron to paw at her breast, thumb brushing over her nipple as she did so. "I take it that means you want to be fully devoured?" Her thigh came forward, nudging Selephra's legs apart gently.

Selephra shivered and arched her back into Mei, moaning at the bite and subconsciously bending forward a little, legs shifting aside to allow Mei easier access. "I'm not against the idea... And I didn't only put the honeysuckle on my neck, Kitten... Do you like it?"

Mei groaned at Selephra's words and bit down again, her tongue laving the spot quickly and dipping forward to lap at the hollow of her clavicle. "Like it? Měilì, nǐ jiāng chéngwéi wǒ de sǐ. (美丽，你将成为我的死。)" The hand on Selephra's stomach inched lower to her pelvis and pressed Selephra's hips up against her own before continuing it's path downwards. Meanwhile the other hand rolled the nipple of Selephra's breast between her forefinger and thumb, tweaking it lightly before massaging the ache away. 

"I love it. I love you." She whispered against Selephra's ear before her mouth moved to the nape of the archfey's neck, where the bow holding the top of the apron in place rested. With her teeth she pulled the ties till the bow came undone and the apron fell forwards, catching at the tie around her waist but exposing Selephra’s breasts once more.

Selephra shuddered, hands reaching out to catch the counter, bringing Mei with her and pressing her hips back against Mei's as she did so. "I really need you to teach me Tien, Xiao mao." She said, gasping at Mei's touch and rolling her hips towards Mei's hand. "Please, don't stop."

Mei placed a kiss at the spot where the bow had been tied and grinned against Selephra's skin. "I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time, ài ren." She trailed kisses lower down Selephra's back, her thigh sliding forward to help support her lover’s weight as her fingers circled Selephra's clit, every so often rubbing against it with added pressure. She shuddered at the sight of Selephra, her kisses accompanied by nips as Selephra begged her not to stop. Mei continued to play Selephra like a fiddle, causing her to tremble in her arms as Mei teased and toyed with her.  
Eventually, when Selephra was less capable of complete sentences, Mei's hand left her sex, sliding up her body to pull her upright against her chest and then spinning her around in one swift movement. She captured Selephra's lips in a bruising kiss, more teeth and tongue than soft lips. Selephra’s fingers twined in her black locks as she tried to press even closer to her until Mei broke the contact.

Her hands cupped Selephra's ass and, after stepping between her thighs, she lifted the lighter woman easily, a gasp slipping from Selephra’s lips as she bucked her hips, trying to find some relief against Mei’s abs. Mei stepped forward to settle her on an empty part of the counter. Her lips trailed back down to the delicious scent on her neck and she nipped at her again, still slightly harder than was nice.

"Please," Selephra whispered, her voice shaking. "Please."

Mei grinned smugly, nipping the curve of Selephra's breast as she set her down gently on the counter, her rough tongue dipping down to the valley between them and traveling lower and lower. She stopped every so often whenever she found a sensitive spot, paying particular attention to it as her hands rubbed at Selephra's chest, her sides, the tops of her thighs. She skimmed them back upwards to squeeze at Selephra's ass when she dipped her tongue down into Selephra's navel. "I think you mean 'Qǐng', beautiful."   
She dropped to her knees between Selephra's thighs. Her hands sliding downwards, along the outside of the archfey's legs to her knees, and parting them gently as she ran them back up towards her slit. Her lips, which waited at Selephra's hips, nibbling a love mark into being at the sharp edge of her hip bone, lifted and then hovered over Selephra's sex, Mei's warm breath tickled at her lover's sex as she inhaled the sweet scent of honeysuckle once more. "Now, one more time."

She said it, terrible pronunciation and all. She said it, again and again, fingers sliding through Mei's hair, trying to gently coax her forward, to give some relief where she needed it most. Her hips rose again, trying to complete the distance between herself and Mei, her voice ragged and husky as she asked for the one thing she needed right then.  
"Qing."

Mei obliged her, tongue darting forward as she allowed Selephra to coax her face closer. Tasting her lover with fast, lapping strokes she drew back enough to circle Selephra’s clit with her tongue and nibble at the patch of skin next to her sex. Her hands stroked and kneaded at the sensitive skin of Selephra’s thighs as the scent of the honeysuckle filled her nose and drove the animalistic side of her forward.

Selephra's legs tensed, bringing her feet down behind Mei's shoulders as she tried to grind against Mei's sandpaper tongue. The air quickly filled with muffled curses and Mei's name, followed occasionally by 'Qing' when she could remember to say it.

Alternating between long laps and short thrusts, Mei focused on bringing Selephra pleasure as she pushed herself as close as possible. Her hands gripped Selephra's thighs tight enough to bruise as she did so. Whenever Selephra spoke the Tien word Mei rewarded her by moving her attentions to her clit but, unable to keep from wanting to drag it out, she inevitably moved back to her slit whenever Selephra's cries started to speed up. Eventually the honeysuckle scent overwhelmed her desire to tease and play and she moved her lips back to Selephra's clit, one finger sliding easily into her sex to curve in search of her g-spot as she did so.

Selephra went rigid at that point, her voice rising as her moans turn to anguished cries. She trembled when Mei gave in to the honeysuckle, only to let out a tortured moan when she stopped. As soon as Mei’s finger hit her g-spot, she tensed, her fingers holding onto Mei for dear life before she choked out "More, Mei. Q-qing. More."

Mei obeyed, adding a second and then, very soon after, a third finger as the tip of her canine just touched at Selephra’s clit and her rough tongue darted out to run across it directly. Her fingers thrusting deep and curling, pressed with devastating accuracy against the spot that made Selephra sing so.

That drove Selephra up a wall. Literally. She let go of Mei's hair rather than rip it out, grabbing for something to hold on to, her legs spasming as she took everything Mei could give her and tried desperately to hold on.  She started to cry Mei's name, thighs trying to close around Mei's head and doing everything she could to prevent Mei from stopping.

Mei’s free hand maintained its grip on one of Selephra’s thighs, holding it in place, and thankfully, keeping Selephra from slipping off the counter. Mei, meanwhile, continued her ministrations with a single minded dedication, mostly unfazed by the jerking of Selephra’s hips as her lips, tongue, and teeth guided her lover higher and higher.

After one last pull of Mei's teeth across her clit, Selephra sobbed out one last cry of 'Qing', before her legs spasmed, straightening out before tensing back against Mei's back. Her thighs clamped down, as though trying to keep Mei between them, and her body fell forward, holding on to the edge of the counter for dear life as she climaxed from Mei's mouth. 

Mei’s hand left Selephra’s sex to cup her thighs, providing her additional support as she continued to draw out the stimulation. She prolonged it till she felt Selephra’s muscle begin to relax and then she slowly, slowly began to ease her off of it, her mouth pulling back and alternating between long, slow lapping strokes of her tongue and small nuzzling kisses on the insides of her thighs, her golden eyes watching her lover, sparkling with love and happiness.

By the time Mei let off, Selephra was a trembling, panting mess, only held up by Mei's hands on her. When everything finally came to an end, she was left shaking from the aftershocks, an expression of pure vulnerability and gratitude in her eyes. She was open, and raw, and terrified about being that way, but she trusted Mei enough to let herself be that open.   
She met Mei’s golden eyes with her own, eyelids fluttering from exhaustion, before weakly saying "... Did .... Did you get enough dessert? I'm not sure I could go for seconds."

Mei coughed a laugh and smiled up at her, cheek resting on Selephra’s thigh. “I think you could call me satisfied, for now.” She purred.  She was clearly pleased by the trust Selephra was displaying and she showed it with a nuzzle and kiss at the top of her thigh before she stood, lifting Selephra off the counter and into the cradle of her arms with a soft kiss. “Thank you for trusting me ài ren.”

"Thank you for giving me a reason to." She wrapped her arms behind Mei's neck before nuzzling into her shoulder. "A reason to trust ... Someone. Anyone." She looked up at Mei, and Mei could see the fear in Selephra's eyes, the question of what comes next, the woman standing on the edge of a cliff and wondering how this could end any differently if she let herself fall. And then she leapt.  
"What now?" Selephra asked, looking up at Mei, waiting for an answer, trusting Mei to catch her before she hits the ground.

Mei paused considering. “I... I’m not sure...” She pursed her lips slightly, “To be perfectly honest... I didn’t expect to reach this so soon...” She flushed, “I... I had everything planned out till I told you that I love you but I... That was supposed to be at least a couple years from now...” She tugged at one of her ears. “I’ve never felt this way before... About anyone.” She bent down kissing Selephra gently. “Can we figure it out together?”

"I'd be happy to." Selephra let her eyes close as she returned the kiss, then relaxed back against Mei's chest. "But I was thinking about  _ right now _ . Are you ... are you still hungry? I could use a rest. You weren't lying about being insatiable."

“Well I could certainly listen to you sing my name that way for the rest of my life...” She grinned down at Selephra with a waggle of her eyebrows.”But I’m physically full, yes.” She hoisted her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. “We can enjoy the day...” She glanced up gauging the light and then with a sheepish smile she corrected herself, “Or what’s left of it at least, shall we go for a ride?”

"Not like this, I assume," Selephra replied, seemingly content to let Mei carry her wherever they're going. "Where would you want to go?"

Mei looked down at them and pink tinged her cheeks once more, “Ah yeah, maybe we should get dressed.” She chuckled and starts walking them back toward the spare bedroom, then pauses midstep and redirects to carry Selephra to her own room. “I don’t have much of a plan for the where, but I’m sure we can figure it out together.”

"I'd like that." Selephra pulled herself up to kiss Mei on the top of one ear, then stepped down out of her hold. Mei’s expression was slightly bereft before, rather than let Mei head back to her own clothes in the spare room, Selephra grabbed ahold of Mei's hand and drew her into her own bedroom.  
It was almost identical to the spare room, but for a few pieces of furniture. The bed was a four-poster that looked like the wood just grew that way, with a leafy canopy and silvery silken sheets. There was little else, no portraits or objects that suggest at a life lived, and the gown Mei normally saw Selephra in hung haphazardly off of one corner of the bed. She made no move to grab it though, and after a moment, Selephra guided Mei down to sit on the bed.  
"It's ... I haven't had much reason to use any of them in a long time, but ..." Selephra looked awkward for a moment, then glanced away. "Just wait here for a second."   
Grabbing what looks like a set of closet doors, Selephra vanished inside. Mei waited as directed, playing idly with the tip of her tail as she looked around the room with fascination. Selephra wasn’t gone long before the doors creak open once more, revealing a glamoured Selephra in a red satin gown with a halter neck that left her back exposed.   
"So," She began, looking a tad uncomfortable. "It's ... I haven't worn anything like this ... not for a long time. Do you," she paused, her hands coming together as she nervously played with the fingers of her left hand. "What do you think?"

When Selephra stepped out of the closet Mei’s expression was stunned for a moment before she grinned coyly. “You look beautiful ài ren, but I could have sworn you were  _ just _ trying to discourage me from attacking you anymore. I’m afraid if you go out looking like that one of your followers will find us in a  _ very _ compromising state.”

"So you are telling me I need to change." Selephra gave Mei an amused look, then walked back into the closet, before coming back out in what was essentially a leotard made of leaves that left most of her stomach exposed. Vines wrapped around her thighs and long gloves reached to her upper arms.

Mei’s stomach dropped and lust surged in her. “Now I  _ know _ you’re provoking me.” Mei purred sultrily, her eyes flashing with hunger as she rose from the bed and crossed the distance between them in two quick strides. “Careful Ài ren or I’ll have to pin to your bed and then there goes my decision to let you take a break.” She murmured into Selephra’s ear, punctuating the statement with a dizzying kiss.

Selephra returned the kiss, before Mei felt a gentle tugging at her wrists, until she is drawn back from a pleased-looking and blushing Selephra. Selephra has two vines that have wrapped around Mei's wrists, gently pulling her back towards the bed. A rumbling purr from Mei’s chest showed her approval but she steadfastly maintained a pout as she resumed her place on the bed.  
"Behave, kitten," Selephra chided, before opening the closet door. "You can look, but don't touch."

After another few minutes, she comes back out wearing riding pants and boots as well as a silken button up blouse and vest. She fidgeted before Mei’s eyes and Mei’s lips formed a perfect O at the sight of her, leaning forward. “Oh that’s a lovely sight. I can’t say I don’t miss all that delicious looking skin but you do still look gorgeous.”

"Fortunately, you can use your imagination." Selephra said, before giving Mei a once-over. She frowned, before reaching into the closet for some clothes that might be Mei's size. "If it helps," she said as she laid the rest of the clothes down beside Mei, with a sultry look somewhat ruined by the mild embarrassment on her face.  "I am not wearing anything underneath."

Mei whimpers and bit her lip. “It somehow simultaneously does and doesn’t help.” She eyed the clothes and then with a pointed look at the vines she said, “I’ll need help putting those on Wǒ de ài.” She cast a flirtatious look at Selephra, “What a change from this morning, yes?”

"I could loosen the vines, if you behave," she said, before holding up one of the shirts to Mei and judging how it would look on her. "Unless ... someone has a liking for this sort of thing." She stepped forward, before angling Mei's chin up to look at her. "Is that ... something you would enjoy, Xiao Mao?"  
Mei looked momentarily caught off guard, the surprise in her eyes darkened quickly to lust however and she leaned forward her eyelids drooping and her breath hitching. “Loosening the vines or you keeping me tied to your bed?” Mei purred. “I’ve never been tied up in that way but if it’s for you... It does sound fun.”

"You _were_ the one who joked about punishing _me_ ," Selephra said, before helping Mei stand as the vines let go. Mei blushed and murmured, “Well… I’ve never been the one _being_ punished...” With maybe a little more skin-to-skin contact than is truly necessary, Selephra helped Mei into her clothes, making sure to find things that fit Mei fairly well. Mei purred every time Selephra’s skin contacted hers, leaning into her touch and generally making the whole process infinitely more difficult just for the sake of dragging it all out. Once that was done, Selephra somewhat reluctantly stepped away from Mei, and moved towards the doorway. "I should give your Red Tiger a try, I think, but will you be riding with me, or do you need a mount of your own?"  
Now fully dressed Mei twisted this way and that trying to appraise her appearance before surrendering and turning to Selephra. “I’ve never worn clothes like these, how do I look? As for a mount...” She grinned, “Well I could summon Wonton back but I’ll give him a couple more days of being spoiled by Fan Rong. I’m sure a noble steed like Red Tiger can handle the both of us.”

"You look amazing," Selephra replied in earnest. Tying her hair back, she moved to the door. "Shall we?"

Red Tiger was perfectly well-behaved with the both of them, and despite his previous owner, seemed to have taken a shine to Mei and Selephra. The archfey seemed a little nervous around him at first, but had little trouble getting up into the saddle and getting comfortable. She held out a hand to help Mei up behind her, and then proceeded to take a nice, leisurely ride through the lands of the Green Court. Mei saw primeval forests, mushroom grove homes of pixies, fleets of sprites sailing through the air, forest pool-homes of nymphs and groves filled with entrancing music. Selephra rode around one of those, giving it a wide berth, but soon, the three of them rode on. Displacer beasts and owlbears came within sight throughout their journey, as did a family of dire sparrows flying high above the treetops.  
Finally, though, Selephra rode out of the forest and towards a cliff, stopping as they neared the edge to let Mei stare over the cliffside at the sea that stretched out beneath them, dark and deep and stretching out to a sun that seemed forever low on the horizon, coloring the sky in purple and orange.

Mei observed the lands of the Green with wonder and fascination. She clutched tight to Selephra burying her nose at the nape of her neck at the sound of the entrancing music in the grove that Selephra avoided, unsure of her lover’s hesitance but seeking to provide whatever reassurance she could. When they left the woods she gasped and leaned dangerously far in the saddle, balance kept only by the weight of her tail and her carefully held muscles, as she looked out at the sunset over the sea. She looked back at Selephra, radiant joy lighting up her face.  “Tā jīhū hé nǐ yīyàng měilì. (它几乎和你一样美丽)”

"I hope that means you like it," Selephra smiled, looking relieved that Mei seemed to enjoy the sight. "I thought you'd enjoy it. The Sunset Sea is popular among many of the people who live in the Feywild."

“I do like it. It’s spectacular.” She looked somewhat overcome and she leaned back in to wrap her arms around Selephra. “To help with your Tien progress, what I said was ‘It’s almost as beautiful as you are’”

At that, Selephra blushed  _ hard. _ Sighing, she swung down off of Red Tiger, and gave Mei a mock-angry glare. "You are  _ unfair _ , Xiao Mao." She held up a hand to help Mei down, and looked back up at Mei with embarrassed annoyance and a large amount of affection. "... and thank you."

Mei’s faux contrite expression at Selephra’s glare was hardly convincing with the pleased twinkle in her eyes as she took Selephra’s hand and slipped from the saddle. She turned back slightly to give Red Tiger a grateful pat and then meeting Selephra’s gaze her expression warmed and a smile broke through the false expression. “You’re welcome, Selephra. Thank you for bringing me here. Wǒ ài nǐ.”

She brought Mei over to the cliffside, before finding a place to rest, looking out over the water at the ever-setting sun. For a long moment, she simply stared out into the distance, her hand in Mei's before finally she asked, in a soft voice. "Did you mean what you said this morning? About wanting to be a house cat? To stay in one place and ... settle down?"

Mei rested her head on Selephra’s shoulder and rubbed her thumb across the back of her hand. “I did. I could do without the fat and lazy part... But it might not happen overnight. I’ll probably still get restless sometimes, especially for the first couple of years... If... If you decide to keep me. I might need to pop over to the material plane if those numbskulls get into more trouble and I did just find out that my friends are still alive, but... As long as I am physically able I will  _ always _ come back.”

"... And when do you think you'll need to leave?"

“I don’t know, but not for a few weeks at the very least.” She looked down at their clasped hands and with her free one began to trace Tien on the back of Selephra’s hand. “I was so sure you weren’t interested in me this way... I was prepared to spend years convincing you.”

She paused and shivered before whispering, ”I-I’m scared that I’m still trapped in that illusion... I’m so happy that it feels like there has to be a catch.... So there’s moments like this where it all just seems so  _ perfect _ and I-just for a moment-I expect to wake up and be back in that place.”

Selephra was quiet for a while, before her hand tightened down on Mei's. "There are mornings," she said, her jaw tight. "When I wake, and I wonder if any of this is real. When I wonder if I am still lying on that hill, staring out into the distance, waiting for a love that will never return."  
"And there are times," she paused as her voice became raw, her throat tight from emotion. "Like this morning, when I wonder if all of this is some dream. That I don't deserve something like this. I don't deserve anything more than my grief, and my loneliness." She leaned into Mei's shoulder, as if wanting that physical touch, something to confirm that Mei _was_ there. "But if it is all a dream, if it is just an illusion ... it's a good dream, isn't it?"

“Shì. Yes. It’s a beautiful dream.” A large tear fell off of Mei’s cheek and landed on their joined hands with a splash.  She wiped the unshed tears away with an impatient hand. “But… If it is... It’s hard to say that I don’t want to wake up. Because  _ you _ would still be suffering alone. I would still want to give you the happiness that I’m feeling right now.”

"Maybe... Maybe Cerunnos can give you some time. And ... I don't have to stay in the green court. If you want to travel, if you need to wander ... I can come with you. In the feywild at least." She paused for a while, before shaking her head and reaching over to hold Mei's shoulder. "Mei, you're not in Baba Yaga's hut. Not anymore. There are things that kind of magic can't fake. And ... A-as scared as we both are, today was ... Today was wonderful in a way that I haven't known in a long time."   
She looked up at Mei then, brown eyes searching gold. "I'm real. _This_ is real. Now please say something before _my_ panic attack sets in."

Mei smiled weakly through the silent tears that set in as Selephra spoke, reaching out to touch Selephra’s cheek with shaky fingers. “I believe you.” There was a weight to her voice, a relief from a burden that had been hiding beneath her nightmares. It wasn’t gone completely but the edge was removed from the knife that had been cutting into her moments of happiness. “And I’d love to travel with you. I’m sure Lord Cerrunos won’t mind, as long as he hasn’t called a hunt he doesn’t care much what I do or where I go as long as I don’t start any more wars with other Archfey.”

"I think we can see to that," Selephra smiled, leaning into Mei's hand, before raising it in her own. Slowly, she turned Mei around, sliding in behind the other woman so that Mei was sitting in her lap, her head resting against Selephra's shoulders as they both faced out towards the sea.   
"I suppose it's my turn again, Xiao Mao," she said, reaching up and gently running a hand over Mei's ears, before scratching at their base. "My turn to take care of you."

Mei purred, wiping away the last of her tears. She breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of the salt air and of Selephra. “I guess we’re both a right pair of scaredy cats.” She joked weakly. “But at least we have each other.” Pushing her head upwards against the hands she purred loudly, tilting her head this way and that to guide Selephra’s hands to the best spots for scratching.

"It is fitting, I suppose." Selephra followed Mei's guiding, finding the best spots along Mei's ears, hoping to have the senri purring in her lap like a kitten. "I like this, by the way. Knowing I can make you happy."

“ _ You _ make me happy. This is just a wonderful perk.” Mei mumbled. Selephra succeeded at making her purr like she hoped to. Possibly better than she expected as she hit a particularly pleasing spot and, with a shudder, Mei shifted to her cat form, eyes closed and purring as she kneaded her paws against the fabric of Selephra’s pants.

With a chuckle, Selephra set Mei's clothes aside and made a nest for the cat with her lap. Still a little shy, she kept scratching at Mei's ears, her other hand moving to scratch at the side of Mei's face, before stroking along her back down to her tail. "That's a good kitty," she said, laughing as she continued to pet the cute little cat sitting with her on the cliff by the sea.

**Author's Note:**

> Camera pans out, credits roll, that's a wrap, good work everybody!


End file.
